The organizational strategy put in place by lead visionary Brendan Shanahan has reached gospel status among Toronto Maple Leafs fans. However, management has yet to hold a press conference spilling their secret formula for building a successful NHL franchise.
So what are the guiding principles behind Shanahan’s plan? And how did it help the franchise sign the best free agent of the past decade, John Tavares?
When Brendan Shanahan was hired as team president in April 2014 the franchise was struggling significantly. Over the previous decade, the team had made the playoffs only once, but had not selected in the top four picks of any draft.