Toronto radio host blasts Brendan Shanahan for not doing more to win in the playoffs
When the Leafs fell short of expectations for a 7th straight season, it seemed like the Leafs were finally destined for significant change. Kyle Dubas himself even mentioned prior to being dismissed that nothing would be off the table this summer. Well, that was then and this is now. Dubas is now gone and nothing else has changed in Toronto (yet).
TSN 1050's OverDrive's Bryan Hayes appeared on SportsCentre on Tuesday with the intention of sending a message that there might be a new GM but Shanahan is still the team's President. Hayes then proceeded to blast Shanahan for how he views playoff and regular season success differently.
"I'm not surprised, because as much as there is a new GM, there is still the same President and he puts forth the philosophy of the organization. He is a believer in regular season success, with the hope of it paying off differently in the playoffs. He wants to bring back a team that has been very successful in the regular season and that includes Sheldon Keefe - and Keefe in the playoffs has been a different story. I don't get the impression Shanahan evaluates the playoff failure and weighs it as much as he evaluates the regular season success."
Hayes raised a very concerning point with Shanahan, particularly because he has one playoff round win in his 9 years as President of the Leafs. Yes, there is a new GM and will be a bunch of new faces to round out the roster, but the team's philosophy, as Hayes mentioned, comes from Shanahan and the team likely won't progress any further in the playoffs if he continues to have the final say on things, which will be for a long time as his contract as President doesn't expire for another 3 seasons. You can only "run it back" with the same core so many times before the players will want to leave to pursue a championship elsewhere.
