After 11 seasons, Brendan Shanahan will not have his contract renewed as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Shanahan, a Hall of Famer himself, has held the position with the Leafs since 2014.
The Leafs had already granted permission to the New York Islanders to speak with Shanahan about a position on their team. However, the Islanders ended up declining and sent Shanahan on his way.
With Shanahan still available and receiving calls, should the Sabres take a chance on him? Shanahan rebuilt the front office immediately, hiring former GM Lou Lamoriello and head coach Mike Babcock in 2015 following his hire.
Shanahan also helped build the Leafs' Core Four, as the Leafs enjoyed regular-season success that failed to transition into playoff wins, despite changes to the team and staff along the way. Despite an impressive roster of talent year in and year out, Toronto has lost in the first round in six of its last eight full-season playoff series.
How much of that blame falls on Shanahan though? He builds a consistent playoff team every year, but they fail to perform when the lights get bright. I don’t think the blame can fall on him as much if he wants it more than the guys on the ice.
Shanahan won the Stanley Cup three times with the Red Wings during his 21-year career from 1987-2009. He spent time with New Jersey, St. Louis, Hartford, Detroit and the New York Rangers. I think if there is a guy who knows how to restructure a team, it's Shanahan.
If Jason Karmanos doesn’t come back as Assistant GM, then I could see Shanahan sliding into that role. As Shanahan could help Kevyn Adams with big decisions, and also shape the structure of the Rochester Americans. This could also apply to the Senior Advisor role that the Sabres are attempting to fill as well.
At this point, Sabres fans are fed up and looking for a change. There was plenty of available front office staff to hire this offseason, but they seem to be missing out on the big picture. They are filling all of their smaller roles but not addressing the big changes.
The Sabres need to take a shot with Shanahan, as he could change the complexity of the team moving forward.