Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment will not be bringing in a new president of hockey operations to replace the departing Brendan Shanahan, CEO Keith Pelley said Friday.
Going forward, Pelley said he is looking to work more closely with general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube and repeatedly expressed his confidence in both.
Pelley addressed reporters in Toronto at a press conference one day after the organization announced Shanahan's contract would not be renewed following its expiration June 30. He praised Shanahan’s accomplishments over the course of his 11-year tenure at the top of the Maple Leafs’ hockey operations, calling him “an integral part of Leafs history” and “a legend in the hockey world.”
Pelley said he will spend the next few weeks evaluating “all facets of the organization.”
“I’m confident in Brad, I’m confident in Craig, I’m confident in the resources that we have, but I do believe that we, as the custodians of the biggest hockey brand in the world have a responsibility to our fans — and that responsibility is winning championships,” he said. “And we will do everything we possibly can, and will not stop until we’ve reached that goal.”
Asked later in the availability whether he had any plans to add a presidential title to Treliving’s role, Pelley said any decision around that would be “determined down the road.”
“There’s not a right and a wrong way to do it,” he said, citing the various organizational structures around pro sports — including under the MLSE umbrella.
“There’s no real need at this particular time to make a hasty decision,” he said. “Everything we do will be methodical, and if we feel that we need to make a move like that then we will. At this particular time, there’s no plan to do that.”
The Maple Leafs are less than a week removed from being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in an Atlantic Division matchup that included a blown 2-0 series lead and consecutive 6-1 home losses to seal Toronto's fate.
Asked about his particular role with the Maple Leafs as CEO of MLSE, Pelley made it clear that while he intends to work more closely with Treliving and Berube he will leave the hockey decisions up to the front office. That includes decisions around two major pending unrestricted free agents in Mitch Marner and John Tavares.
“My role is to be a sounding board, my role is to try to create a culture and a chemistry within that organization that builds a culture of winning championships,” said Pelley, who explained that he views his role as being “a holistic leader that can provide support and guidance from a leadership perspective, from a culture side.”
Pelley has a keen understanding of just how high the expectations are in Toronto and the pressure that comes with it, and thanked fans for their investment in the team.
“I understand, to our fans, that winning is the only thing that matters,” he said. And while he recognized the strides made by the team and those in charge, he reiterated the idea that “good simply isn’t good enough.”
"We have to be on the pathway to winning the Stanley Cup, the city and the media have told us,” he said. “We haven't won since 1967. We felt that this move would get us to the next level."
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