Thoughts on Keith Pelley - President and CEO MLSE

[Fogelhund]

Would they make just as much money if they were a middle tier team? Likely. The market here is hockey mad and unless they are complete dog $&%# they will likely sell out the barn and have decent drink sales.

Who cares if the business is making money, their job is to win championships and they are brutal at that.

The people who actually make these decisions care. That's who.

 

[rojac]

The whole idea of the current structure of the Raptors and Leafs presidents reporting directly to the board is to remove the possibility of meddling from a bean counter CEO. Those positions will also become harder to fill if they are required to directly report to the MLSE CEO.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

Still applies (especially Keefe)

 

[WTFMAN99]

It's amazing that so few people believe in this team, and group now, that we've all just assumed that they aren't going anywhere this playoffs. We've just collective lost hope in this team... me too really.

Noting, we don't actually know what the board's performance measurement is. We as fans are simply focused on winning in the playoffs. The board is probably more focused on profitability and I doubt there is an issue there at all. This team has had record wins, record points in the regular season for the Leafs, and in all probability, record revenue too. When you are raking in record levels of cash, and meeting all profitability goals, is that a formula that you want to mess with? I wonder, do they look at the lost revenue of a handful of games in the playoffs, as a major problem in this organization?

Do the board members, and new CEO judge the success on profitability, or is there more of a desire to take risks on that profitability, to try and win in the playoffs, by getting rid of the management that has delivered the best regular season record, and record profits?

As a fan, I'm totally in the get rid of this group, they haven't delivered playoff success. The business side of me sees a winning regular season team, with record revenues and profits... so what do they do?

Oh, and this idea that they could move Tavares... that's just not based on reality at all.

The whole mantra of "keep the group together" has gotten more and more tiresome starting from that CBJ series loss. We keep surrounding these...soft players with grit etc and they keep coming up short. People can make excuses all they want, they come up short.

I feel less positive about our chances in these playoffs than I did last year, big holes.

The Leafs will always be profitable, I guess you can be more profitable if you go further, we've been bounced in round 1 for the most part...are we at risk of missing? Possibly but any team could with bad luck such as a key injury.

RE: Tavares -it's wishful thinking but he does gotta go lol.

 

[Suntouchable13]

At least he has to put his foot down and say “no, you’re not re-signing Marner for 12M plus”. Do something.

 

[rojac]

Certainly we can't assume he has any loyalty to the Shanaplan but I don't know where they are vis a vis the below. He probably didn't have much direct involvement with Shanny this spring as the new guy in but that can change. And whether he is a direct report or not you would assume Pelley has control over the Prez's future.

It’s "unclear" whether Masai Ujiri and Brendan Shanahan, presidents of the Raptors and Maple Leafs, respectively, "will report to Pelley." During Friisdahl’s tenure, Ujiri and Shanahan "reported directly to MLSE’s board of directors."

Edit - But yes it's a bean counter's resume and if the hunt for a Cup doesn't present a tangible financial benefit then he could be a negative rather than a positive. As in "we're doing fine we're making tons of money. Go Shanny!"

A cup run would not increase player costs. A cup run would increase the number of playoff games at SBA. Playoff games have ticket prices that start above those for the regular season and increase each round. There are also no player salaries to pay in the playoffs. Not to mention, a cup win or even a trip to the cup final would probably allow MLSE to justify hiking ticket prices more than normal the following year.

Do you or anyone else have a scenario in mind where the Leafs make less money by going on a Cup run?

 

[rojac]

It remains to be seen how much influence Keith Pelley will have over the Leafs and Raptors. Currently, Shanahan and Ujiri report directly to the MLSE Board of Directors.

Personally, I think that having them report to the MLSE CEO (who then reports to the board) could be a bad hang. But hunk it will definitely reduce the quality of candidates available when filling the Raptors and Leafs CEO jobs. I don't think many top candidates for such jobs want a situation where they are two rungs down from the ultimate decision makers.

 

[Evilhomer]

A cup run would not increase player costs. A cup run would increase the number of playoff games at SBA. Playoff games have ticket prices that start above those for the regular season and increase each round. There are also no player salaries to pay in the playoffs. Not to mention, a cup win or even a trip to the cup final would probably allow MLSE to justify hiking ticket prices more than normal the following year.

Do you or anyone else have a scenario in mind where the Leafs make less money by going on a Cup run?

Without knowing the numbers, but having a pretty good sense of how much money sports franchises make based on prior deals I have been involved in, it's not hard to appreciate that additional home playoff games on both the Raptors and Leafs side, as well as the additional ancillary revenue that would come with the popularity of the teams' increasing, would create a pretty substantial increase in revenue for the parent company. In other words, the idea that MLSE doesn't care about winning is way...way...off-base. They just haven't figured out how to do it yet (at least on the Leafs side).

 

[HamiltonNHL]

At least he has to put his foot down and say “no, you’re not re-signing Marner for 12M plus”. Do something.

Stop dreaming, it’s a done deal.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

It isn't unfair. You need to beat the best to be the best. It is just unlucky.

I have a good feeling about this team this year. I think there is some potential here but I try not to weigh on the failures of the past.

I agree with you that Shanny is a failure, but the boardroom probably won't see it that way. He has assembled a talented roster with big-name players so you can bet the marketing and merchandising departments are thrilled lol.

Yup, and the bolded is the issue. So to answer the OP's question, it depends if Pelley's direction from the Board is to maintain status quo or a change to a "win the Cup at all costs" attitude a la Vegas.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

It's amazing that so few people believe in this team, and group now, that we've all just assumed that they aren't going anywhere this playoffs. We've just collective lost hope in this team... me too really.

Noting, we don't actually know what the board's performance measurement is. We as fans are simply focused on winning in the playoffs. The board is probably more focused on profitability and I doubt there is an issue there at all. This team has had record wins, record points in the regular season for the Leafs, and in all probability, record revenue too. When you are raking in record levels of cash, and meeting all profitability goals, is that a formula that you want to mess with? I wonder, do they look at the lost revenue of a handful of games in the playoffs, as a major problem in this organization?

Do the board members, and new CEO judge the success on profitability, or is there more of a desire to take risks on that profitability, to try and win in the playoffs, by getting rid of the management that has delivered the best regular season record, and record profits?

As a fan, I'm totally in the get rid of this group, they haven't delivered playoff success. The business side of me sees a winning regular season team, with record revenues and profits... so what do they do?

Oh, and this idea that they could move Tavares... that's just not based on reality at all.

Great post! Sums it all up quite well.

 

[nuck]

A cup run would not increase player costs. A cup run would increase the number of playoff games at SBA. Playoff games have ticket prices that start above those for the regular season and increase each round. There are also no player salaries to pay in the playoffs. Not to mention, a cup win or even a trip to the cup final would probably allow MLSE to justify hiking ticket prices more than normal the following year.

Do you or anyone else have a scenario in mind where the Leafs make less money by going on a Cup run?

It isn't whether they make more necessarily, that can be assumed. But if they have this Prez in place that seems to guarantee x level of profitability compared to years past, is the increased playoff revenue worth the risk that canning Shanny might have a negative result that affects the regular season golden goose? I don't know the internal math but I know how actuaries operate. Low risk change is fine, massive increased profit change is great. Lack of certainty of big profit change is not so good. Thats how management structures stay in place for 10 plus years of winning nothing which has happened on a regular basis in the NHL.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

The whole mantra of "keep the group together" has gotten more and more tiresome starting from that CBJ series loss. We keep surrounding these...soft players with grit etc and they keep coming up short. People can make excuses all they want, they come up short.

I feel less positive about our chances in these playoffs than I did last year, big holes.

The Leafs will always be profitable, I guess you can be more profitable if you go further, we've been bounced in round 1 for the most part...are we at risk of missing? Possibly but any team could with bad luck such as a key injury.

RE: Tavares -it's wishful thinking but he does gotta go lol.

Some people might say the Leafs are just playing their part in a WWE-like drama. I am not one of those people, although the stubborness and resistance to changing the core makes one wonder...

 

[Maple Leaf]

sban ahan has been collecting a paycehck for devades with nothing to show for it BITO! RIOT!

 

[mcleex]

If this organization had any integrity, they would have fired Keefe and Shanahan after losing to a zombie driver goalie. I still can't fathom how embarrassing that was
It was the lowest of lows

4 players being paid over $11M, and they couldn't score a goal on a zambonie driver emergency goalie

Truly despicable that we've allowed the same people to hang around this long after so many failures

 

[Mess]

Not a chance imo, not coming in with a flamethrower, it’s not how billion dollar entities do business.

Stay tuned next year.

We're officially coming up in a months time on the 10 year anniversary of the Shanahan hiring.

To date he has 1 playoff series win, followed by a near 2nd round sweep as his high water mark.

People are watching how little success he has had with the on ice product,

If MLSE is in the "Entertainment" business and judge success in profit margins gained from highest ticket prices in the NHL, and putting talented expensive players on the ice that entertain, and validate those costs then the measure of his success will be much higher as the "Franchise value" keeps rising regardless of the teams sport success. So if investors, share and stock holders are happy with the financial success then the measure of the job Shanahan is doing will be judged quite differently.

Leafs were tied with Edmonton with $281 million brought in gross revenue in 2023 .. So the Leafs are a money making team under Shanahan.

 

[ACC1224]

At least he has to put his foot down and say “no, you’re not re-signing Marner for 12M plus”. Do something.

God no. Why would you want him making personnel decisions? He has no qualifications for that.

 

[tmlms13]

If he's the one who has the ability to fire Shanahan and does it I'm all for it.

Shanahan is the real one running the show (not dubas or Tre) and it's time for him to go.

 

[Stephen]

I don’t think firing Shanahan at the corporate level for an underachieving hockey club makes that much sense…

 

[Craig Button]

Leaders at MLSE

www.mlse.com

He’s replacing Cynthia Devine right?


This will have no impact on the leafs whatsoever

 

[Craig Button]

At least he has to put his foot down and say “no, you’re not re-signing Marner for 12M plus”. Do something.

It’s more like yes re-sign Marner for 12M+

 

[Craig Button]

Maple Leafs Head Coaches Under Shanahan | StatMuse

Sheldon Keefe has coached the Maple Leafs from 2020-21 to 2023-24.

www.statmuse.com

 

[Menzinger]

The whole idea of the current structure of the Raptors and Leafs presidents reporting directly to the board is to remove the possibility of meddling from a bean counter CEO. Those positions will also become harder to fill if they are required to directly report to the MLSE CEO.

Yep.

Some of the darkest periods in Leafs history is when we had an interventionist ownership on hockey operations decisions. It's odd some in here want a return to that

 

[capfit9]

Yep.

Some of the darkest periods in Leafs history is when we had an interventionist ownership on hockey operations decisions. It's odd some in here want a return to that

It’s not that Pelley will be making hockey decisions but maybe he believes the people managing the hockey operations need to be replaced. Remember, Lieweke is a business guy but made the decision to hire Shanahan, so of he can do it why not Pelley. Also, the one thing that can materially impact in a meaningful way the value of the franchise is a championship.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Yep.

Some of the darkest periods in Leafs history is when we had an interventionist ownership on hockey operations decisions. It's odd some in here want a return to that

Richard Peddie was badddddd

I don't want to go to that again but surely financially we can entice a good hockey mind to come here and be president of this club?