On Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that their parent company, MLSE, has elected not to renew the contract of current team president Brendan Shanahan.
Here was Shanahan's words following the news:
The New York Islanders, who have a vacancy at the president and general manager position, requested permission to talk to Shanahan on Wednesday and were granted it.
He is expected to interview for the president position but could also be in line to fill both roles like Lou Lamoriello did from 2018 through this season.
The expectation is that the president job is his, if he wants it.
While Shanahan will be ridiculed for his failures, given the stars he had and the holes he never really filled to be good enough, he did show an ability to develop through the draft, which is clearly something the Islanders need to get better at.
Looking at the Leafs roster, their entire top six outside of John Tavares are homegrown players.
William Nylander was drafted eighth overall in 2014, Mitch Marner was drafted fourth overall in 2015, Auston Matthews was drafted first overall in 2016, Matthew Knies was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and Pontus Hogberg was drafted in the sixth round in 2018.
Top defenseman Morgan Rielly was taken fifth overall in 2012. Goaltender Joseph Woll was drafted in the third round in 2016.
It helps to have top draft picks, for sure, but the Leafs proved that they can develop the talent they select.
Few presidents and/or general managers who have built teams from the ground up are available, so Shanahan becomes an immediate option for Long Island.
Also, it can't be dismissed that Shanahan worked alongside John Collins, who is leading the Islanders' executive search, as the vice president of hockey and business development at the NHL from 2009 to 2011.
While Mathieu Darche and Marc Bergevin seemed to be the final two candidates for the Islanders' general manager position, Shanahan's getting both roles obviously makes those interviews meaningless.
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