Well, that was one heck of a season by the Leafs. Year 3 into the rebuild, making the playoffs and pushing the top team in the regular season to 6 games – 5 in overtime. Well done!!
The Shany plan is well on its way – kind of like building a house.
Shanahan was hired by the Leafs in April of 2014.
The first year, the 2014/2015 season was to observe – players, coaches, management, scouting.
Year two – 2015/2016 was to put a solid foundation in place in which to build. So, Shany did a major housecleaning and leveled the old house. Got rid of coaches, management, scouts, players everything including the kitchen sink. The foundation of his build was to hire Lou Lamoriello, Mark Hunter, Kyle Dubas. Add some consulting from Jacque Lemaire, hiring of top OHL coaches in Sheldon Keefe for the Marlies and DJ Smith to assist none other than Mike Babcock. Mike freaking Babcock! Being in the cap era, what better person to add to the foundation then Brandon Pridham – who has intimate knowledge of the complexities of the salary cap system all garnered while at the NHL head office.
Year three 2016/2017 – put the young guns in place and let them grow. At times there were as many as 8 rookies in the lineup. But it worked out. There are some stars are on this team and the future does look bright. OH ya, and a good trade in getting goal keeper Freddie Andersen.
Year four – next year, time to add an addition to the house in the way of a couple of solid defencemen. By way of free agency?? Probably not, although Karl Alzner would look nice back on D. Maybe one D can come by way of other teams (Anaheim) not wanting to lose a good defenceman in the Las Vegas draft for nothing. Is there a Toronto Marlie ready to make that jump? Maybe.
This off season should be a very interesting time for the Leafs. Also for teams such as the LA Kings (where did all these long term contracts come from?), Habs (can anyone score?), Sharks (Marleau and Big Joe move on?), and Chicago (Nashville sweeps?? Really??).
Here are some key dates to follow:
The 30 NHL clubs must submit their Protected Lists by 5:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 17, 2017. The Las Vegas franchise must submit its Expansion Draft selections by 5:00 p.m. ET on June 20. The announcement of their selections will be made on June 21.
June 21, 2017:NHL Awards takes place in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Will Babcock win his first ‘Coach of the Year Jack Adams trophy?? Matthews – no brainer for Calder.
June 23-24, 2017: NHL Draft, takes place in Chicago, IL
