Shanahan still believes in Phaneuf
/Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan spoke with a number of media outlets Wednesday.
Via The Toronto Star, on the possibility of stripping Dion Phaneuf of his captaincy:
“I don’t know if it is a solution,” said Shanahan. “I think it’s a cop-out, to a certain degree an easy way out.
“Has it happened on some teams? Yes. Is it something I’m thinking about since I’ve been here? Ultimately this will be a group decision. But I can tell you it’s not something I’ve contemplated. Just the opposite. I want to help enhance the player and leader that Dion is.”
On Phaneuf's effort:
“I look at a guy like Dion before I had any thoughts of coming to Toronto, I’ll say that I felt that he . . . there are certain times when less is more,” said Shanahan. “(I) really felt that he was trying to be all things at once. I admire the fact he was trying, even though it wasn’t successful, it probably worked in the opposite manner.”
Source: Kevin McGran, Toronto Star
In a phone interview with The Canadian Press, Shanahan offered this in terms of when the Leafs might be expected to make any sort of moves:
"I'm confident in my ability to make informed decisions when I think they're right not on any timetable," he said. "Basically we could be making decisions that would appear that we're being hasty, but if the right decision is there and it's there right now, we'll make it. And if I feel that the strong decision and the strong move is to sit back and wait, then I'll do that as well."
Shanahan also noted, "I'm realistic that you can't do everything overnight, that there are 29 other teams that are trying to accomplish the same goal and also covet good players. No one's going to lay down for us because we're the Toronto Maple Leafs and give us their assets."
Source: Stephen Whyno, Canadian Press