In the middle of October, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun caught up with Keith Pelley, the president and CEO at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, at the NHL Board of Governors meeting in New York.
The Maple Leafs had beaten the Nashville Predators in Toronto the night before. “The vibe around the team is positive,” Pelley said. “There’s a lot of optimism.”
Pelley said he was enjoying working more closely with Brad Treliving, the general manager, and Craig Berube, the head coach (also known as “Chief”), in the months since Brendan Shanahan was let go as team president.
“It’s go time,” said Pelley. “And I think we have two leaders, in Brad and Chief, to hopefully take us to the promised land.”
Three and a half months later, it’s definitely not “go time” anymore. And it’s become clear the new leadership structure isn’t working. With Pelley in charge minus Shanahan, the Leafs will very likely miss the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and end the NHL’s longest playoff streak.
They’ve had a bad season, but what do people expect when you’re #1 goalie, top d-man, and top forwards have missed a bunch of games this season?
True, but I think the problems are deeper than that.