President Brendan Shanahan

[Zee]

It would probably be wise to remember that hockey is a very fluid sport, and that while one year you can be a genius, the next you can be a fool.  Ask Dean Lombardi.

Once the Leafs win 2 cups in the near future and then fall apart, I'll have no problem calling Shanahan and company fools.

My point was that it's sometimes hard to tell if someone is making the right decisions, or if they are just getting lucky.  People thought Lombardi was doing a great job, but that Kings team is in a real mess.  Also he didn't do so hot in making a team for the world cup of hockey.  So the question becomes, is he a smart GM, or did he just catch lightning in a bottle?  Or is he more of a situational GM?  He's good at building but lacks skill at maintaining a team?  If he's good a building, why wasn't the team that he put together for the World cup of hockey better?

The thing is, that things are great in Leaf land right now, but there is still work to be done.

I don't think anyone is disputing that with the Leafs. What else can the management team do at this point though?  They've built a team the way most fans should agree would equate to long-term success...building through the draft and developing your own talent first and foremost.  Remains to be seen what they do going forward, but right now I have very little issue with management's moves.  I'm the first guy designing the Shanahan statue to go up in front of the ACC right now.

 

[hockeyfan1]

I'd hate to think where the Leafs would be without Shanahan.  Doubt there would have been a Babcock behind the bench....

...nevermind.  The most important thing is glad that Shanny is on our side, and appreciative, as a Leafs fan, for all that he has done for this organization.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

My point was that it's sometimes hard to tell if someone is making the right decisions, or if they are just getting lucky.

I don't know if I'd put it like that. Building a team into a contender and then keeping them there are two completely different tasks. I think Lombardi did a really good job with the first one, but then winning with his group made him blind to some of their warts.

That's why what the Blackhawks did with Tallon was so smart, even though that switch was made before they won their Cup. But I think that he had the same issue. And quite frankly we might be wise to make that same move with Lou sooner rather than later.

 

[herman]

So much easier to be constructively ruthless with someone else's build.

 

[Frank E]

There's a lot of luck involved in this whole process, especially with drafting being such an inexact science, injuries, and developmental curves that vary from player to player.

I think we attribute too much credit to GM's when they win, and we're too critical when they lose, in many cases anyway. 

 

[CarltonTheBear]

There's a lot of luck involved in this whole process, especially with drafting being such an inexact science, injuries, and developmental curves that vary from player to player.

I think we attribute too much credit to GM's when they win, and we're too critical when they lose, in many cases anyway. 

I would say this is definitely true, yeah. LA drafted Kopitar 11th in 2005. The 5 players drafted directly ahead of him were Luc Bourdon (not a bust of course), Brian Lee, Devin Setoguchi, Jack Skille, Gilbert Brule.

Every good team out there has basically relied on luck through the draft to get to where they are.

 

[disco]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/590/prime-time-sports/toronto-teams-success-can-attributed-great-leaders/

Props to Leiweke as well. Great interview here.

 

[Zee]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/590/prime-time-sports/toronto-teams-success-can-attributed-great-leaders/

Props to Leiweke as well. Great interview here.

Good interview, and pretty much sums up what Leiweke and Shanahan were able to set in motion.  Get the owners to buy into a rebuild, stick to it and have patience.  Hopefully they continue to stay the course and don't make rash decisions going forward, this team is on the right track for the first time in my lifetime.

 

[Zee]

Good refresher on the Shanaplan, Day 1:

https://youtu.be/N8aA94Y0wfs

Of course, Steve Simmons with the first stupid question of the press conference 9 minutes in.

 

[disco]

Steven Brunt follows Shanny around his childhood areas in Toronto:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c86Tf3P7Hzs

 

[Highlander]

I'd hate to think where the Leafs would be without Shanahan.  Doubt there would have been a Babcock behind the bench....

...nevermind.  The most important thing is glad that Shanny is on our side, and appreciative, as a Leafs fan, for all that he has done for this organization.

Hockey Fan says it the right way, but when I look at all the T.O. franchises outside of the Blue Jays we seem to think that Tim Leweke had nothing to do with the phenomenal turn around of all our teams, especially FC. When historians look back at what is happening to the Leafs, Raptors and FC it will all point back to T.L.

 

[Zee]

I'd hate to think where the Leafs would be without Shanahan.  Doubt there would have been a Babcock behind the bench....

...nevermind.  The most important thing is glad that Shanny is on our side, and appreciative, as a Leafs fan, for all that he has done for this organization.

Hockey Fan says it the right way, but when I look at all the T.O. franchises outside of the Blue Jays we seem to think that Tim Leweke had nothing to do with the phenomenal turn around of all our teams, especially FC. When historians look back at what is happening to the Leafs, Raptors and FC it will all point back to T.L.

I never forget Leiweke. He may not have known about hockey or the Toronto market, but at least he hired the right guy to oversee it. I couldn't care less about Raptors or TFC so I have no say about those organizations.

 

[Highlander]

I'd hate to think where the Leafs would be without Shanahan.  Doubt there would have been a Babcock behind the bench....

...nevermind.  The most important thing is glad that Shanny is on our side, and appreciative, as a Leafs fan, for all that he has done for this organization.

Hockey Fan says it the right way, but when I look at all the T.O. franchises outside of the Blue Jays we seem to think that Tim Leweke had nothing to do with the phenomenal turn around of all our teams, especially FC. When historians look back at what is happening to the Leafs, Raptors and FC it will all point back to T.L.

I never forget Leiweke. He may not have known about hockey or the Toronto market, but at least he hired the right guy to oversee it. I couldn't care less about Raptors or TFC so I have no say about those organizations.

Gotta admit I am not much of a Raptors fan, but I have a soft spot for Footie and nice to see that Toronto FC have constructed such a great organization. Tim L's touch was and still is all over LA Galaxy the best MLS franchise since it started.  I do predict at some point there will be a statue of Tim somewhere in T.O. if we are smart enough to give him credit.

 

[Kin]

I don't get the obsession with giving Leiweke credit but the people with it would probably better served by making the case for anything noteworthy he actually did rather than try to link any and all success the MLSE teams had after he left.

I'm not a TFC guy but he shouldn't get much credit for a Leafs rebuild he had very little to do with and "credit" for the Raptors right now probably isn't the word most people would be using.

 

[Highlander]

He hired Shanahan and Ujiri and set up the FC structure and that does deserve credit.

 

[Kin]

He hired Shanahan and Ujiri and set up the FC structure and that does deserve credit.

Ok. For a second let's ignore that what Ujiri's done is taken a team that was looking like it was heading for a rebuild and turned them into a team that's nowhere close to being a real contender and without a realistic avenue to become one and agree that both he and Shanahan are good at their jobs. Isn't hiring reasonably competent people to run these teams the barest minimum we should expect from the president of the organization? Hiring decent executives doesn't make him an innovative genius.

He was reasonably good at his job while here but bailed before the teams actually accomplished anything. That seems deserving of fairly muted praise which, I think, most people give him. He did alright, he didn't see things through.  How much more time do you want to spend trying to convince people his legacy here should be anything more than that?

 

[Highlander]

I am actually more impressed by what he did with FC. Not everyones favorite sport, but the Toronto fans are probably most vocal in the MLS.  Soccer was always Tim's special strength, hockey not so much.

 

[Kin]

I am actually more impressed by what he did with FC. Not everyones favorite sport, but the Toronto fans are probably most vocal in the MLS.  Soccer was always Tim's special strength, hockey not so much.

Ok, what did he do there that was really special over and beyond hiring some competent people before leaving before they'd accomplished anything?

 

[Arn]

Made the fans noisy!

 

[Kin]

Made the fans noisy!

I was at the first game. Trust me, fans have been noisy.