Leafs name Shanny New president

[Singin the BLUES]

The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Hockey Hall of Famer Brendan Shanahan the hockey club's president and alternate governor.

Shanahan joins the Maple Leafs to oversee all team operations for the 97-year old franchise and will begin his new role immediately.

He will be formally introduced during a news conference Monday in Toronto.

Stephane Quintal will head up the NHL's Department of Player safety on an interim basis for the balance of the season. Quintal was already part of the group that worked alongside Shanahan. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will oversee everything and have the final say on suspensions.

Reports surfaced Wednesday that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke had reached out to Shanahan for a senior position with the hockey club shortly after the Vancouver Canucks chose Trevor Linden to become their President of Hockey Operations.

Shanahan, a Mimico, Ont. native, has held various executive roles with the League since retiring from hockey in 2009.

From Dec. 2009 through 2011 Shanahan served as the NHL's Vice President of Hockey and Business Development. Since then he has taken on the League's top disciplinarian role, leading a crackdown on hits to the head and enforcing the League's concussion protocol.

An eight-time NHL All-Star, Shanahan sits 13th all-time on the NHL's goal-scoring list with 656. He won three Stanley Cups - in 1997, 1998 and 2002 - all with Detroit, as well as an Olympic Gold Medal with the 2002 Canadian men's hockey team.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.

[SharksGM]

Meh. Wake me up when they hire a competent coach, GM, and fix the awful defense.

[Virtual Jarmo]

But I was under the impression that they were this year's darkhorse team to win the Cup.