What is interesting to me is .. If this were a court of law, that statement would be ruled inadmissible as valid evidence, based a the 3rd party hearsay rule.
What is hearsay evidence?
Objection, Your Honour! Hearsay.” You’ve probably heard it a thousand times in courtroom dramas on TV – the judge then says, “Objection overruled” or “Sustained” and the trial moves on. But do you know what hearsay evidence is, and what it isn’t?
The general rule - All evidence presented in a trial must be “admissible”. The word “admissible” means that the law of evidence will permit the judge to admit it as evidence in the trial and consider it when deciding your case. Hearsay evidence carries with it the risk that the reported statement is not reliable, because it can't be verified, because a 3rd party not directly involved that neither saw, nor heard it first hand themselves has no true account of the situation. Because of the possibility that hearsay evidence is not reliable, this form of evidence is not allowed at trial.
Unless Chris Johnston was on the phone line with Shanny and the players, or in the room when it was said, his opinion outside that scope would be considered conjecture (an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information) and thus Hearsay. Where or what is the factual basis to prove CJ statement as true, or is it simple freedom of speech and his own personal opinion and drawn conclusion on the subject?
If however at and until Shanahan's next PC to announce the Leafs new coach, he personally goes on the record and tells us what he did or didn't say or promise the core 4, everything else said in the media can be believed or not believed at your own risk.