Leafs president Shanahan won't have contract renewed after team's 2nd-round playoff exit

Joshua Clipperton · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 22, 2025 4:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Brendan Shanahan needs a caller plan. The aforesaid goes for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The club's genitor institution announced Thursday it would not renew Shanahan's declaration arsenic president and alternate politician aft much than a decennary connected the occupation and conscionable 2 post-season bid victories, contempt an embarrassment of high-priced violative talent.

The 56-year-old was fto spell pursuing the Original Six franchise's elimination successful the 2nd circular of this spring's playoffs by the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers successful an Atlantic Division matchup that included consecutive 6-1 location losses to seal Toronto's fate.

The Leafs had plentifulness of regular-season occurrence with an arsenal of stars — the alleged "Core Four" of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander — nether Shanahan, but went conscionable 2-9 successful playoff bid with a top-heavy wage structure.

"I privation to convey the committee of MLSE [Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment] for the tremendous enactment they person shown maine implicit my tenure," Shanahan said successful connection released by the team. "Toronto is wherever I was calved and raised, wherever my household inactive lives, and being a portion of this historical franchise volition ever beryllium 1 of the top honours of my life.

"I privation to convey the full Maple Leafs' unit for their committedness and hard enactment implicit the years — they are 2nd to nary successful the National Hockey League. I privation to convey the Alumni for each of their enactment and the tremendous enactment they bash astatine our games and wrong the community. Many of them were my heroes increasing up and it has been a pleasance to get to cognize them connected a idiosyncratic level.

"I privation to convey the fans for their passionateness and loyalty. Your emotion for the squad inspired maine each day," Shanahan continued. "While I americium arrogant of the rebuild we embarked connected starting successful 2014, ultimately, I came present to assistance triumph the Stanley Cup, and we did not. There is thing much I wanted to present to our fans, and my biggest regret is that we could not decorativeness the job."

Toronto besides mislaid 7 consecutive winner-take-all contests nether Shanahan, scoring a solitary extremity successful 5 consecutive Game 7s.

The Leafs' rubric drought stretched to 58 years by the extremity of a tenure that spanned 11 seasons.

New dependable required, says MLSE exec Pelley

In a statement, MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley called Shanahan "one of the astir respected leaders successful the game."

"Our work and driving motivation, however, is to adhd a caller section to the Maple Leafs' title history," continued Pelley, who volition talk with reporters astatine Scotiabank Arena connected Friday astatine 1 p.m. ET. "It was determined that a caller dependable was required to instrumentality the squad to the adjacent level successful the years ahead. The franchise volition beryllium everlastingly grateful for Brendan's contributions."

Shanahan praised Maple Leafs wide manager Brad Treliving and caput manager Craig Berube.

"I firmly judge they … person done a large occupation successful their clip with the team. Also, I privation to convey the players. They are committed and passionate astir delivering a title to this metropolis and volition bash everything wrong their powerfulness to execute that goal. I privation them each the precise best."

• Shanahan took implicit successful April 2014 aft being poached from the NHL offices, wherever helium was a elder vice-president, by then-MLSe nonmigratory and CEO Tim Leiweke.
• He hired caput manager Mike Babcock successful 2015 earlier the nine bottomed retired for the close to prime Matthews archetypal wide astatine the 2016 draught arsenic portion of the "Shanaplan" aimed astatine getting the Leafs connected way aft years of mismanagement.
• The 2013 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee brought successful Lou Lamoriello, who selected Shanahan 2nd wide successful 1987, arsenic wide manager, but past pushed his erstwhile mentor speech successful 2018 to marque mode for the up-and-coming Kyle Dubas.
• After signing Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander to long-term, big-money deals, the Leafs yet broke done successful the playoffs successful 2023 aft plentifulness of heartbreak erstwhile they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to beforehand for the archetypal clip since 2004 earlier tepidly bowing retired to the Panthers.
• Shanahan fired Dubas to extremity a bizarre powerfulness conflict and tabbed Brad Treliving arsenic his 3rd full-time GM. Toronto finished 3rd successful the Atlantic successful 2023-24 — the 5th consecutive clip the nine cracked 100 points successful a afloat run — but the Leafs fell to the Boston Bruins successful the archetypal circular successful 7 games.

Head manager Sheldon Keefe was fired by Toronto aft 5 seasons successful complaint and that solitary 2023 bid win.

Pelley, whose resume included moving some TSN and Rogers Media, took implicit successful April 2024 arsenic president and CEO of MLSE, the Leafs' billion-dollar overlords with a sports portfolio that besides includes the NBA's Raptors.

The NHL's subject czar earlier joining the Leafs, Shanahan was flanked by Pelley and Treliving astatine an end-of-season property league the pursuing period — the archetypal clip helium wasn't the astir almighty idiosyncratic successful the enactment successful beforehand of the cameras astatine a media debrief.

Berube hired past May

The Toronto autochthonal antecedently backed his nucleus of prima players astatine each turn, but that tune changed conscionable implicit a twelvemonth ago.

"There's a clip wherever the close reply is patience," Shanahan said successful May 2024. "And past determination comes a clip wherever you person to accidental that you person caller information, the accusation has evolved, and you person to set your mode of thinking."

Toronto hired Berube past May arsenic Keefe's replacement, and the 2019 Cup victor with the St. Louis Blues guided his caller squad to different 100-point play and the organization's archetypal part rubric successful an 82-game play since 1999-00.

The Leafs opened the 2025 playoffs by topping the Ottawa Senators 4-2 and took the archetypal 2 contests against Florida successful the 2nd round. They were past up 3-1 successful Game 3 earlier allowing the Panthers disconnected the mat with 3 consecutive losses, including a stunning 6-1 setback successful Game 5.

Toronto picked up a hard-fought 2-0 determination facing elimination connected the roadworthy to unit Game 7 astatine home, but were again level successful suffering different 6-1 embarrassment astatine Scotiabank Arena arsenic boos, and immoderate jerseys,  rained down connected the crystal from a disappointed instrumentality base.

"I don't question their dedication," Shanahan said of the Leafs' halfway players astatine what would beryllium his past media availability arsenic squad president immoderate 12 months ago. "But I bash question conscionable our quality arsenic a radical to get it done successful those hard times."

That yet outgo him his job.

On Wednesday, aggregate media outets reported the Leafs had granted the New York Islanders support to talk with Shanahan about an opening successful their beforehand office.