With his job on the line, Brendan Shanahan may do the unthinkable with the Leafs

At his season-ending press conference, Shanahan once again stated that the Leafs would look at everything. Many fans took that as it finally being the off-season that the "Core 4" would be broken up and major changes would be coming to the roster. Well, that hasn't happened yet.

While the core remains together, much to the chagrin of the Maple Leafs' fanbase, the defence looks drastically different and there are a handful of new voices behind the bench, so I suppose some changes did occur, even if they weren't the changes that many were expecting.

It wasn't for a lack of trying on the part of Brad Treliving, but he wasn't left with much to trade in terms of prospects and draft picks. He refused to trade their first-round pick for help at the deadline this past season. He wanted to retain Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten at all costs. However, given that Shanahan is basically fighting for his job now that Keith Pelley has joined MLSE, Treliving may be entering the upcoming season in a power struggle as Shanahan attempts to keep his job.

Shanahan may use his position to force Treliving to trade the likes of Minten or Cowan among others in the Leafs' already depleted prospect pool and draft capital to add whatever he can to help push the Leafs past the second round of the playoffs. It will be something to keep an eye on throughout the season, but we could see a much more aggressive approach to the trade deadline next season if Shanahan feels that he needs to make a big move in order to save his job.

Source: PuckPedia
Leafs draft pick outlook