Maple Leafs' Shanahan holds midseason address, secretive about plans for team

Beyond vague promises of evaluating players and seeking greater consistency in the second half of the season, Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan isn't eager to share his plans for the club.

"We don't always share our thoughts and opinions because you can have a plan, and your plan might change," Shanahan told reporters during a pre-planned midseason address at the Air Canada Centre on Friday.

The details may not be shared in public, but Shanahan assured the media that indeed plans exist and are detailed.

"We have a very strong idea of where we need to go," Shanahan said. "We have a good feel for what we've seen so far."

To hear Shanahan tell it, what the Maple Leafs' management team has seen so far is a talented, inconsistent team that isn't playing up to expectations.

"I haven't seen enough consistency and that's what's really what it's about in terms (of having success at the NHL level)," Shanahan said. "Good teams in the NHL don't beat themselves, but we're often our own worst enemies."

In terms of that inconsistency, Shanahan addressed the club's specific strengths and weaknesses as he sees them.

"Our greatest asset ... is our speed and our ability to convert on chances," Shanahan said. "The message we're trying to pound home to our players is that we really have to be more sound defensively. Being where we are in goals against (and shots against) is not acceptable."

At least the Maple Leafs' president appears to understand the nature of the beast he's attempting to tame. It's a welcome relief from the old "compete" mantra that characterized the Randy Carlyle era.

Shanahan also revealed at Friday's presser that he met with Maple Leafs players on Friday, to tell them that he's watching and evaluating.

"I wanted to remind them that we're watching," Shanahan said. "How they're going to be defined is really up to them at this point. I also wanted to make it very clear to them that we're watching and we're on it."

It would seem that Shanahan is playing the long game, and he flatly declined to discuss Toronto's core group in terms of being untouchable.

"I don't know how many teams ever proclaim that players are untouchable," Shanahan stated. "If we have the opportunity to make this club better we will."

Reading between the lines, one might reasonably assume that Shanahan hasn't entirely given up on his old sheriff roots, which he honed during his tenure with the NHL's Department of Player Safety. The Maple Leafs' players appear to have been put on notice: shape up, or ship out.

"We've seen the good and we've seen the bad and at a certain point (our players are) going to tell us who you are," Shanahan said. 

"We're not going to be afraid to make those decision to make this team better. Whether it's a small move or a big move, it really depends on what we can do to make this team better."

The Maple Leafs' president may not be eager to share the details of his plan, but one thing is for certain: the Maple Leafs' second half of the season promises to fascinating.