Domino's That's Hockey: Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan 1-on-1 with Gino Reda
TSN
December 9, 2024
Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan joins Domino's That's Hockey host Gino Reda to share his thoughts on Mitch Marner's season so far, Auston Matthews' recovery from his injury, what the Leafs look like under Craig Berube and more.
President Brendan Shanahan joined TSN’s Gino Reda to discuss the Maple Leafs’ start to the season, Mitch Marner’s expiring contract, Auston Matthews’ recent injury, the team’s performance under Craig Berube, and his own contractual status. We aren’t going to ask about the details of the...
mapleleafshotstove.com
Brendan Shanahan on the Maple Leafs’ play under Craig Berube: “The big shift between this year and previous years is our play on the defensive side”
By MLHS Staff -
December 9, 2024
President Brendan Shanahan joined TSN’s Gino Reda to discuss the Maple Leafs’ start to the season, Mitch Marner’s expiring contract, Auston Matthews’ recent injury, the team’s performance under Craig Berube, and his own contractual status.
At this time last year, it was clear you wanted to see a shift in your team as far as the character — for lack of a better term, more “Shanny-like” hockey.
Shanahan:
I’d like them to be better than me, but thank you.
You were pretty successful. Now, 12 months later, Brad Treliving has brought in a number of different bodies. Craig Berube is behind the bench with a different philosophy. What is your assessment of where the team stands right now and your ability to compete and go deeper in the playoffs?
Shanahan:
I do think a shift occurred last year with the team. It was a conscious shift by Brad and I. Brad and his staff added some people this offseason, including the coaching change that we made.
Look, Sheldon Keefe is a great coach. He is doing a great job in New Jersey. Sometimes, as we see in the NHL—and as we have seen with some recent teams—a new and fresh voice is what is needed. Craig felt like the right coach at the right time.
The big shift between this year and previous years is our play on the defensive side. If you really admire what Florida did, they weren’t known as a defensive team. They kind of made a collective decision as a group that they were going to be an outstanding defensive team. It got them a championship.
I think players go through different arcs throughout their careers. Sometimes, it is about the individuals you have on the team. Sometimes, it is about the individuals you have collectively coming together and making a decision to be better defensively.
I give Craig Berube and his staff a lot of credit for that, but I give our players a lot of credit. There is a long way to go, but so far, with the commitment on the defensive side of the puck and the goaltending we have been getting, knock on wood, we just want to keep getting better at that.
Our understanding is that you are in the final year of your six-year contract extension with the Maple Leafs. What does your future look like with the organization?
Shanahan: With players and with coaches, for good reason, there is focus on their contracts and when their contracts are expiring. If you go into that board room today, in any given year, there are 20-or-so guys who play their contracts out. It is different for management.
I am not the story. The focus isn’t on me. I am just going to continue to do the job every day I wake up, whether I am in the first year or the final year of my contract. I am always thinking about what I can do for the Maple Leafs. My commitment from the first day I got here — and my dream — was, “What can I do to help this team?”
That is where my focus is now. It is not on the future. It is not on the past. It is on what we can right now to get better, and how can I help?