In order for Shane Doan to leave his longtime club, the Arizona Coyotes, the offer had to be attractive. At the Toronto Maple Leafs, the former player finds one of his old accomplices, general manager Brad Treliving.
Before rising to prominence as the GM of the Calgary Flames in recent years, he got his start in the National Hockey League (NHL) offices with the Coyotes. There he met Doan, who was serving as captain of the Desert Claim at the time.
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In the 2007-08 season, Treliving became the Coyotes’ assistant GM and held that position until 2014. Doan was at the peak of his 1,540-game career. Fifteen years later, on Friday, he offered her the same job in Toronto.
“I am very pleased to welcome Shane to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With more than 1,500 NHL games, his leadership positions, more than 10 years as a captain and just being an extraordinary person, Shane has touched so many aspects of the game that he is an asset to the Maple Leafs organization , its staff and its players,” Treliving said in a statement.
A specific player’s idol
The new assistant to the managing director is not lacking in experience. A few years after retiring, Doan agreed to take on the role of hockey operations director for the Coyotes in 2020. He has also held various positions with Team Canada, including GM for winning gold at the 2022 IIHF World Championship.
“I’m honored to be joining the Maple Leafs in this role. The Maple Leafs have such a long history and passionate fans, and I’m excited to help advance this organization’s ultimate goal. I’m also excited to be working with Brad Treliving again and to continue this relationship that began during Brad’s time with the Coyotes.”
In addition, Doan is said to have been one of the childhood idols of a certain Auston Matthews. The Leafs sniper grew up in Arizona and observed, among others, the captain of the “Yotes” and Daniel Brière.
Will this help Toronto extend their best player’s contract until next year? Maybe not, but it sure can’t hurt.