TORONTO -- Keith Pelley, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said the goal is for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup, not just reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Meanwhile, in St Louis, we are angling for "5% better", no mention of Lord or Stanley or Cup in our mission statement.
No way that Armstrong ever gets hired in Toronto. His 5% better speech up there would get him thrown over the falls.
Nothing in that article implies Berube won't keep his job. Big deal the guy said their goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Toronto wishes they had the playoff wins Army has had in the last 11 years.
The Leafs and Blues were not in the same position with Toronto having the Core 4 in place, and being a contender for several years, so allusions to Army's 5% better comments have no relevance.
TORONTO -- Keith Pelley, president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, said the goal is for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup, not just reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Meanwhile, in St Louis, we are angling for "5% better", no mention of Lord or Stanley or Cup in our mission statement.
No way that Armstrong ever gets hired in Toronto. His 5% better speech up there would get him thrown over the falls.
Nothing in that article implies Berube won't keep his job. Big deal the guy said their goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Toronto wishes they had the playoff wins Army has had in the last 11 years.
The Leafs and Blues were not in the same position with Toronto having the Core 4 in place, and being a contender for several years, so allusions to Army's 5% better comments have no relevance.
Key takeaways:
1. No way that the fans of Toronto would buy what Armstrong is selling. 5% better is loser-speak in their mind. So Armstrong is not headed to Toronto as his next gig.
2. Berube's job is neither safe, nor over. It's up in the air.
3. Toronto's reliance on the "Core 4" may be coming to an end as well. It too is up in the air.
The Toronto writers in the Globe and Mail (I subscribe online) are now saying that the elimination of Brendan Shanahan as team president --- whose job will not be filled --- leaves the owners of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the Leafs' GM Brad Treveling much closer to making decisions with the head coach involved. That's good news for The Chief. The Leafs' brass is extremely top-heavy, with FIVE assistant GMs and a "special assistant TO the GM" in Shane Doan. Their front office has more than 100 staffers. Just imagine all the internecine bickering and jockeying for influence.
But there's no question that Shanny's 11 years there turned the franchise around from being a doormat to being respectable. His annual dependence on his "core four" worked out in the end the way the Blues' dreaded obsession with obtaining "Sutter-type" players did, based on all those Stanley Cups Brian Sutter won as a player and head coach***. OR....Mike Keenan's weird predilection for acquiring former Cup winners from many years ago, who had turned old.....OR Emile Francis' determination to rebuild the Blues with former Rangers he had coached many years before.
Surely Mitch Marner has played his last game as a Leaf, and likely John Tavares, too, unless he accepts a big pay cut to stay and play at age 35. The Leafs this season had FOUR players making at least $10.9 mil, when only a dozen players make that much in the rest of the NHL.
The times in Toronto, they are a-changin'....
***OK, so Brian never won a Stanley Cup, but he did coach the Bentley Generals of the Chinook Hockey League to the 2008-2009 Allan Cup, Canada's senior men's hockey championship.
Pink Freud wrote: ↑25 May 2025 11:32 am
The Toronto writers in the Globe and Mail (I subscribe online) are now saying that the elimination of Brendan Shanahan as team president --- whose job will not be filled --- leaves the owners of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the Leafs' GM Brad Treveling much closer to making decisions with the head coach involved. That's good news for The Chief. The Leafs' brass is extremely top-heavy, with FIVE assistant GMs and a "special assistant TO the GM" in Shane Doan. Their front office has more than 100 staffers. Just imagine all the internecine bickering and jockeying for influence.
But there's no question that Shanny's 11 years there turned the franchise around from being a doormat to being respectable. His annual dependence on his "core four" worked out in the end the way the Blues' dreaded obsession with obtaining "Sutter-type" players did, based on all those Stanley Cups Brian Sutter won as a player and head coach***. OR....Mike Keenan's weird predilection for acquiring former Cup winners from many years ago, who had turned old.....OR Emile Francis' determination to rebuild the Blues with former Rangers he had coached many years before.
Surely Mitch Marner has played his last game as a Leaf, and likely John Tavares, too, unless he accepts a big pay cut to stay and play at age 35. The Leafs this season had FOUR players making at least $10.9 mil, when only a dozen players make that much in the rest of the NHL.
The times in Toronto, they are a-changin'....
***OK, so Brian never won a Stanley Cup, but he did coach the Bentley Generals of the Chinook Hockey League to the 2008-2009 Allan Cup, Canada's senior men's hockey championship.
you forgot Caron and his fetish for former MTL players
Pink Freud wrote: ↑25 May 2025 11:32 am
The Toronto writers in the Globe and Mail (I subscribe online) are now saying that the elimination of Brendan Shanahan as team president --- whose job will not be filled --- leaves the owners of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and the Leafs' GM Brad Treveling much closer to making decisions with the head coach involved. That's good news for The Chief.
Interesting to know all this. It's going to be great theater to watch Berube in Toronto.
