Ahead of the opening of 2024 training camp, President Brendan Shanahan discussed the MLSE ownership change with Rogers’ buyout of Bell, the offseason changes on the ice, and his reasons for optimism after so much playoff failure during his tenure.
Opening Statements ahead of the 2024-25 Season
We sat here at the end of last season and talked about our goal. Not completely different from most offseasons, we wanted to do a top-to-bottom and very thorough review of our organization and how we could get better.
We had a busy offseason. We will get into more details, and Brad will speak to more of those details, but I was very pleased with the work that we did. Several changes were made to our coaching staff and roster.
We come back here with the same goal that we have had for the last several years, determined to get to where we want to be. Like several clubs that have the privilege of competing in this league, our goal is to win the Stanley Cup. That is where our focus is, and that is what is most important to us. That is what we thought about with every decision that we made this summer: Does this make us better? Does this help us get closer to our goal?
I am pleased with where we are today, knowing that we have a lot more work to do starting tomorrow and throughout the season, going through the entire season and getting ready for the end of the year.
Q&A with Brendan Shanahan ahead of the new season
All of your players talked this morning about the goal being to win the Stanley Cup. You mentioned it as well. Is there not a step you need to take as a franchise prior to saying you want to win a Stanley Cup? You haven’t had a playoff run yet in your time here in Toronto. Normally, teams go two or three rounds before they get to the championship.
Shanahan: I think every team is entitled, whether they have taken steps in the past or not, to make their goal to win the Stanley Cup. I don’t think there is anything wrong with players or teams coming in and saying, “Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup.”
We are certainly aware of the results we have had in the past. We have come back with the determination to get that job done. But I would be more concerned if our players were coming in here and saying, “Our goal is to get to the second or third round.”
We know that there can only be one winner every season, but several teams are in a similar situation where they are coming in and saying—rightfully so—that the goal is to win the Stanley Cup.
Can you speak to the ownership change and how it might affect you moving forward?
Shanahan: We have great ownership here, as we have for the entire time I have been in Toronto. We have been blessed with the support we get from ownership, and we don’t expect that to change with today’s news. We have been communicated with well and supported. They are very committed to winning, just as we are.
How are you personally expecting the ownership change to impact your job?
Shanahan: I don’t think it changes anything. What is most important to me — and it has been since the day I was hired until today — is how I can contribute to making the Maple Leafs better. How can we get to our ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup?
I am not afraid to talk about the Stanley Cup. You have to have that goal. I know that there is a day-to-day job and steps to take to get there.
As far as the ownership announcement, their focus and their goal is shared by me. They are very supportive. That is what we want in this city. That is what I have wanted every day since I have been here. We are not going to quit trying to achieve that goal.
Why did you ultimately decide to bring back the core group this year?
Shanahan: When we evaluated our team, the question we asked ourselves after every decision — whether it was coaching staff, defense, goaltending, or forwards — is, does it make us better?
As you evaluate your options and as you evaluate all of these different areas where we can make improvements, we feel we have made several key improvements, but the work begins tomorrow.
We felt that the answer to those questions, for each individual player, was that we are a better team with them on our team this year.
You have seen Mitch Marner grow up here. How would you describe his significance to the organization and the team?
Shanahan: Mitch is a great player and an even greater person. I have watched him grow from a young man to a man. He is a special player. Anybody who can get you 100 points and also be one of the top one or two defensive forwards in the NHL means you are a special player.
Other players are coming to his defense and recognizing that as well. Some of his peers have made that noticed.
Mitch has had a great offseason. There is a maturation that comes with all players at different moments and different times. Mitch has always been a very committed person and a very committed hockey player.
When you see the work he puts in, and you see his love for the game and his love for the city of Toronto, it helps you believe in a guy like Mitch Marner.
It has been 10 years on the job now. How frustrated are you that you haven’t been able to have the long playoff run yet? Do you see Craig Berube as the guy who can correct the disconnect between great regular seasons and a strong playoff team?
Shanahan: I think Craig Berube will be a big help — not just Craig but his entire staff. We have a new person running our power play. We have a new person running our penalty kill.
I don’t want to put it all on Craig, but changing your head coach and almost your entire coaching staff—and the people Craig wanted here with him—can have a profound effect on a group.
He has been great since he came in. The players have gotten to know him a bit over the summer.
There are going to be some changes. I expect there will be some adjustments for our players. Sometimes, with change comes adjustment. I don’t know if it is going to be smooth every day, but that is why you have these days in the regular season.
We know what our goal is at the end of the season, but now we are going to focus on what we are going to do day in and day out.
