Maple Leafs Rumors: 2 Teams "Closely" Monitoring Brendan Shanahan's Situation

This news might not break the hearts of too many Toronto Maple Leafs fans, but with team president Brendan Shanahan's contract expiring at the end of the season, there are two teams monitoring his availability "closely", per insider Nick Kypreos, writing in The Toronto Star.

There is a sense within the industry that if MLSE were to not re-sign Shanahan he could resurface with another club as quickly as Kyle Dubas did two years ago in Pittsburgh. Ownership groups that may be watching his situation closely include the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.

Naturally, this entire situation will hinge on what the Leafs do in the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs. This is Shanahan's 11th season at the helm of the organization and so far, the ShanaPlan hasn't delivered in the postseason. They've qualified for the dance the past eight consecutive years, but have just one series win to show for it, in 2023 (and that was followed by a quick 5-game dispatch in the second round).

The Auston Matthews-Mitch Marner-John Tavares-William Nylander era has provided plenty of exciting hockey and some very good regular season records, but Shanahan hasn't been able to find the right combination in the front office and behind the bench to build a playoff winner.

If they bow out again quickly, Shanahan could very likely become a free agent.

The Islanders connection makes sense, as he brought in their current GM Lou Lamoriello to run the Maple Leafs for three seasons from 2015 through 2018.

As for the Sabres, they're just looking for anything to shake up the organization. Now in their all-time record 14th straight season of missing the playoffs, the Leafs' success of at least getting there for eight straight years must look awfully good to those in Buffalo.