How Things Shake Out If Shanahan Is A No
Brendan Shanahan is believed to have already interviewed for the Islanders' opening.
Welcome to Free Friday here at The Elmonters!
The New York Islanders waited patiently to speak with Toronto Maple Leafs team president Brendan Shanahan.
They had their eye on the former NHLer turned executive, asking MLSE (Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment) for permission to speak with the 56-year-old soon, a few days after the Florida Panthers eliminated Toronto in Game 7. That happened this past Sunday.
Permission was granted.
On Thursday, MLSE notified Shanahan that his contract would not be renewed, which everyone saw coming. I believe Shanahan has already met with the Islanders, and more meetings will occur.
The likelihood of Shanahan accepting a role as team president — maybe GM as well, although I'd hold off on that for the moment given his lack of experience in that position — is pretty high.
Outside of Buffalo, there are no presidential openings anywhere else. Shanahan has a relationship with the Islanders' operating partner, John Collins, who is leading the search. Shanahan worked with Collins at the NHL on the business side of things from 2009-2011.
Shanahan also has another connection to the Islanders.
Tim Leiweke, who helped develop UBS Arena as CEO of the Oak View Group (OVG), used to be the president and CEO of MLSE. He was responsible for hiring Shanahan in Toronto in 2014.
So, the connections are there.
But what happens if Shanahan says no?
That would complicate things for the Islanders, as candidates could consider Toronto a destination over Long Island.
When the Los Angeles Kings and general manager Rob Blake parted ways, the Islanders quickly lost their top guy, Ken Holland. One of the Islanders' other candidates, Marc Bergevin, who had worked as Blake's special advisor in LA for the better part of four seasons, also turned his attention to the Kings before losing out on the job.
Once Holland was officially announced, Bergevin was forced to turn his complete attention back to the Islanders, where he's now a finalist for the GM gig.
So, if Shanahan says no, the Islanders are back in competition mode for the top candidates available.
The good news for the Islanders is that Toronto has elected to keep general manager Brad Treliving. This means that a guy like Bergevin or Mathieu Darche, the other GM finalist, won't be lining up for that job.
If Shanahan is a no, we can throw some names out as potential presidential candidates, like Vegas Golden Knights' George McPhee, who was a special advisor to the late Charles Wang. St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong is another name, as he's likely to become president there, I believe, after the 2025-26 season.
Both are unlikely to be available, so the Islanders would have to wait for someone of interest to hit the market or pivot back to teams that may have previously denied permission, like the Montreal Canadiens with Jeff Gorton.
It's more likely that Collins would serve as team president, while the organization took more time to find their guy. It's unorthodox to hire a GM before a president, but outside of a Shanahan hire, that's incredibly likely.
As mentioned numerous times, so many candidates lined up for the Islanders president and GM gig. But that didn't mean that most candidates were qualified for the position.
If Shanahan is the guy the Islanders want — it certainly seems that way — then they need to find a way to lock him down. There's no more room for error here with time starting to not be on their side.
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Darche seems very very good! Excellent match with Roy both French Canidians.
Yes, the Islanders can again be the Center of the NHL. This is a unique opportunity and the timing is right. Keep stacking wins off the ice.
1. Solidify talented Front Office
2. Resign RFA to long term deals at good AAV if possible
Holmstrom Tsyplakov Romanov Dobson are pillars.
3. Draft Matthew Schaffer
4. Find creative ways to Dump Salary from now until FA.
5. Get Mitch Marner if at all possible. If not move forward shaping the team for the influx of Young Talent.
6. Patrick is your guy stick with him Stability!
7. Marner can go anywhere he wants to, explore a deal for his rights with Leafs. It’s a low cost move a third rounder, or you can expand it and the Leafs can possibly help you shed salary. If he had any interest in the Islanders that ability to offer that eighth year may push it over the top before he becomes a free agent. Marner is not only for this year’s team but for the rest of the decade.
8. This team’s lack of scoring has always been the issue. You have a tremendous uptick in offensive in Marner Eiserman Ritchie Schaffer the next two seasons.
9. Shanahan + Roy + Ownership + UBS and Practice Facility + Close to NYC and all that offers+ players and families ability to live a normal life on the Island + the locker room dynamics Yes this can become a destination for NHL talent.