Keith Pelley Is The Man In Toronto Now
Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Keith Pelley didn't mince his words during a press conference on Friday. He even used the title of a Metallica song when explaining his expectations for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“We need to win. The rest doesn't matter. No doubt you've heard that before. But I'm 1000 percent committed to it,” MLSE President Keith Pelley told the media on Friday.
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The world of hockey revolves around Toronto in a way that people don't want to admit. There has been a lot of talk about what the Maple Leafs will do this season. However, one thing is clear: Pelley wants Toronto to be a winning franchise and a championship again.
“The fans here not only deserve but also want the title. There is no relief. We are not here to sell jerseys,” continued Pelley.
The mandate is simple: what has been done in the past is no longer acceptable.
“I came here to win, and good is not enough,” Pelley said.
It comes down to a phrase Al Davis, the late owner of the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, passionately coined, “Just Win, Baby!”
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That's the message from Toronto Maple Leafs ownership. And that's the message Keith Pelley conveyed at a press conference on Friday. This had a different feel to it than previous years.
You knew Pelley was in charge, since Brendan Shanahan was no longer making decisions. Although Pelley has given full confidence to Shanahan and General Manager Brad Treliving, this is his team, and he has the final say as Elliotte Friedman said on the Jeff Marek show on Friday.
“But the last thing that really hit me was Jeff, Keith Pelley in charge. They had this press conference today because he was available today. I think originally they should have done it yesterday. I don't think he was available yesterday, and he wanted to be there. And it was Keith Pelley who came out and introduced a vote of confidence for Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving.
And he basically said to me, that, you know, Shanahan and Treliving are in charge of the hockey side of the job, but I'm in charge of the big picture, and I make these decisions. And I'm here to let everyone know that right now I'm rooting for these guys.
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And you know Shanahan faced some questions about himself, about his continuity and his future and things like that. But it was Pelley who made sure to come out and say, No, this is my call. And he is a champion. He used the phrase champion. So those are the three things that really stood out to me and probably the most important of them was Pelley saying I'm the guy here and I can't say it, but it shows that he's the guy here now.”
This was truly the start of a new era for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The way Pelley spoke it seems, the Maple Leafs may be taking a page out of the Vegas Golden Knights playbook when they are no longer in the hockey business but are now a winning business.
Let's see where things are headed in terms of what direction they take this offseason.
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