With Keith Pelley having ousted Brendan Shanahan as president of the聽Maple Leafs, Friday’s message to the team’s fans was simple: Winning is what matters.
鈥淲e, as the custodians of the biggest hockey brand in the world, have a responsibility to our fans,鈥 said Pelley, chief executive officer of Maple Leaf聽Sports & Entertainment. 鈥淎nd that responsibility is winning championships. And we will do everything we possibly can and will not stop until we reach that goal.
鈥淢aking the playoffs and winning rounds is not our aspirational goal. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup.鈥
After 58 years of futility, the last 11 on Shanahan’s watch, Pelley said the Leafs need a new direction. But he wasn’t exactly clear on how things would be different, only that Shanahan wouldn’t be around.
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Keith Pelley doesn't plan on hiring someone to replace Brendan Shanahan after it was announced the Hockey Hall of Famer's contract won't be renewed. Pelley said he has the utmost confidence in general manager Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube, adding the team has all the resources it needs to win championships. (May 23, 2025 / The Canadian Press)
鈥淪ometimes you need change to get to the next level, and that’s what we feel that we needed right now,鈥 said Pelley.
At the same time, Pelley expressed faith in general manager Brad Treliving, who was in Calgary for his daughter’s graduation on Friday, and coach Craig Berube.
鈥淚 have incredible confidence in Brad. We made some strides in Brad’s second season. We certainly made some strides under Chief (Berube),鈥 said Pelley.
Among various roles, Shanahan, a Hall of Fame player, was an adviser on hockey matters. That’s a job Pelley won’t fill.
鈥淚f you look at the structure that we have, there’s a lot of advisers in there right now,鈥 Pelley said. 鈥淭here’s a lot of people with a lot of experience. You look at Shane Doan, Brandon Pridham.
鈥(Treliving) has got one of the best sounding boards in Craig Berube; he has won a Stanley Cup (with the St. Louis Blues). I’m a firm believer that the coach has to be involved more than just on the day of the game and in the dressing room.鈥
Pelley said he’d leave those decisions for the hockey department聽鈥 likewise for MLSE’s basketball and soccer teams 鈥 and that he would be a 鈥渟ounding board鈥 but more worried about the business side, the culture of the organization and the relationship with fans.
鈥淚’m not going to be deciding who we draft and what free agents we will sign,鈥 said Pelley. 鈥淭hat will be the decision by the hockey operations team.鈥
Pelley had dinner with Berube the other night, and plans to have one with Treliving on Sunday. But his message Friday had implications beyond Shanahan and the Leafs. Here are some key takeaways for ...
Marner promises to earn one of the biggest paydays in NHL history, with his contract expiring July 1. Pelley said he didn’t want to get into specifics about individual players: 鈥淗e’s one of the most prolific scorers that we’ve ever had. We’ll see what happens with Mitch Marner in the weeks ahead.鈥
Winning the Stanley Cup would work wonders, but there are other way to reach fans. Better in-game entertainment, more tickets available to 鈥渞egular鈥 fans and greater outreach by players were some of Pelley’s ideas: 鈥淲e need to embrace the media. We need to embrace the fans. We need to be out there more. We’re going to have a full, detailed plan. A priority for us is how we relate to the fans.鈥
Raptors president/vice-chair Masai Ujiri’s job seems to be safe with a year left on his contract: 鈥淯nder Masai, they have obviously not only won a championship but they started the rebuild, and I’m optimistic about the season ahead.鈥 Pressed further about the NBA team, Pelley said he wanted to focus on the Leafs.
The Major League Soccer team was the first under the MLSE umbrella to undergo change, with president Bill Manning turfed last June and Jason Hernandez continuing to run the show as GM. Pelley spoke about changes in how the soccer academy is run, TFC’s culture and recruiting: 鈥淚 am totally confident that TFC is headed in the right direction. TFC is going to contend for championships every year. I have the utmost confidence in Jason Hernandez ... this is just his second year. I know we’re on the right track.鈥
The sale of Bell Media’s share of MLSE to Rogers has yet to be finalized. Once it is, would the Blue Jays be folded under the MLSE umbrella? Would MLSE be rebranded, or even disbanded? 鈥(It’s) far premature to even speculate on that. I have no knowledge or no comment on that.鈥
When Pelley said he would 鈥渆valuate all facets of the organization in terms of how we utilize resources,鈥 it sure sounded like changes are afoot.聽 It’s believed Rogers will look to streamline operations once it takes full control of MLSE. Shanahan, for example, built an empire within hockey operations 鈥 nothing but the best for the players. 鈥淚 haven’t looked at it as forensically as I might now,鈥 said Pelley. 鈥淚’m not worried about the size of the department. What I’m most concerned with is, are those resources being put in the right area?鈥
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation