5 ways Maple Leafs winning NHL Draft Lottery will save franchise
By Leah Smith
4. The front office knows what to do
When Brendan Shanahan was hired by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, he presented a plan for how he was going to rebuild the highest profile team in the NHL.
This plan – dubbed the “Shana-Plan” – would cause a lot of pain in the beginning before paying off a few years down the line. The fear was on how Leafs Nation would react to things getting worse before they got better – not that thing could get much worse after the 2014-15 season.
Promising moves off ice got the fans to buy into the rebuild. First, Toronto won the “Mike Babcock Sweepstakes”, then Lou Lamoriello was brought in as General Manager, and the fans were on board.
Lamoriello quickly started moving out players thought to have unmovable contracts. First came the Kessel deal that sent Phil Kessel and his massive contract to Pittsburgh for, most importantly, an additional first round pick in this year’s draft.
Then things went quite for a couple months until the trade deadline. Feburary 9, 2016, the Leafs unload another big contract, captain Dion Phanuef.
In a seven-player deal with provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators, the captain was sent packing in return for mostly young prospects and picks.
A flurry of other trades would be made prior to the deadline as the team off loaded players for picks, prospects, and most importantly salary cap space.
Given all that the team as done in just one year under the guidance of the new front office, the Maple Leafs should be in good hands for years to come.
While winning the draft was all about luck, landing it proves that the plan worked. If the Leafs had sold off most of the team for picks and to get worse only to pick fourth, the fans may not have been as supportive moving forward.
Next: 3. The kids