Brendan Shanahan May be Done in Toronto After Ownership Change

The Toronto Maple Leafs famously fired Kyle Dubas last summer. The move came as a surprise to many throughout the hockey world but it signaled a philosophy change within the organization. No more changes are coming to the team. MLSE announced Keith Pelley as the organization's new president and CEO in January. However, he did not officially take on the role until earlier this week as the organization went through a transition period. Now with Pelley in full control at MLSE, we can expect him to implement some more changes.

One change could come in the form of the team's ownership. Late last year, partial Leafs owner Larry Tannenbaum sold part of his share of the team to the Ontario's Teacher's pension plan, giving up 5% of his 25% share of the team. As a result, Tannenbaum now owns just 20% of the Leafs. Rogers and Bell combined own the other 75% of the Leafs. However, Rodgers and Bell maintain their right to purchase Tannenbaum's remaining share of the team through a clause in their original 2011 contract when they purchased a majority share of the franchise.

These changes to the team's ownership group could spell Kyle Shanahan's end with the team in the near future. As it is, he was already coming to the end of his current deal with the team. Shanahan signed a six-year extension with the Leafs in 2019. That deal is set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season. As such, the timing of his contract expiring gives the new ownership group a chance to go in a new direction for the President of Hockey Operations position.

It is not clear what direction Rodgers and Bell will take the Leafs in the coming years, but as they consolidate their control of the team, there will no longer be anyone else in the ownership group to act against them. As such, we could see some major changes in the way the team is managed. It should be interesting to see how the team will manage players like Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews in the coming years as the organization goes through these changes. Will the team eventually part ways with one of their star players, or will they continue to run it back with the same group over and over again? Only time will tell.

Source: MapleLeafsDaily Leafs ownership change could spell the end of Brendan Shanahan's reign