Sitting 25th overall in the NHL and in a good spot when it comes to a top draft pick next season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have given team president Brendan Shanahan the authority to strip the team down and erase Bryan Burkes mistakes.
According to Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail, Shanahan received approval from the MLSE board to proceed with a major overhaul of the team, something of which he strongly endorsed going into his hiring.
New Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was hired with a mandate to remake the team. From very early on, he’d realized that if the club aspired to be a Stanley Cup contender, it required a major overhaul.
But he needed the evidence of the season to persuade his employers fully. After the Leafs’ recent slide out of contention, the club’s given him that.
Then he needed the board to endorse his vision of a barren short term in the interests of a competitive future. In that meeting, he got that as well.
With that in mind, Kelly further reported that team captain Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel are not in the team’s future plans and will be on the block prior to the March 2nd trade deadline. If that doesn’t happen the team will still look to deal the two at some point during the offseason for top prospects and draft picks.
On the other hand it’s believed according to Kelly that Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, Jonathan Bernier, Nazem Kadri, James van Riemsdyk and Jake Gardiner are the core players that the team will be built around however it’s not believed that any one of these guys are untouchable.
What will make this all more compelling is what will happen when it comes to the Leafs finding a new head coach. I don’t think it’s been much of a secret that the team has been interested in Detroit’s Mike Babcock however with a rebuild in the immediate future that could take anywhere from 3-5 years (at least), you’d have to believe Babcock would pass on that opportunity. Not to mention the present and future seem to be very bright for the Red Wings.
h/t: Globe and Mail, USA Today (photo)
