Was Shanahan ever "the man" on his team? Perhaps his season on the Whalers. But he also demanded to be traded and could be considered a problem player for the Whalers. I remember it being public knowledge that he wanted out. One year as the face of the franchise and it was a very unhappy face.
Also, check out the Mike Keenan quote that Shanahan was "half the player he thought he was" That's not exactly a glowing review of leadership or a team player. That's also with the Blues, not the Whlaers. So that's two teams in a row that clashed with Shanahan
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/10/sports/whalers-finally-trade-shanahan-for-coffey.html
The Whalers and Keenan's assesment comes during Shanahan prime. Yes, I know someone will point out Keenan's history with player X, y, z, aa, ab, etc.... But it is still should be considered
Perhaps Shanahan is still a better team player than Tkachuk, but he ain't spotless. And if we stick to the prime years, this is the Shanahan we have to use. Also I don't think we can use many of Shanny's years in Detroit as prime years. I am sure he was very happy in Detroit with the pressure on the big boys as he won Cups with one the NHL's best run and classiest organizations.
Why do people keep taking about Tkachuk as a Blue? The question was about the player in their prime. Does anyone consider Tkachuk's prime years being 2000 to 2005? His Prime years was as a Jet/Coyote.
Also, consider once Selanne was traded from the Jets and the team was basically done in Winnipeg. Tkachuk took over. After Feb 6, 1996, Tkachuk scored 41 points in 29 games, 1.41ppg, he had 57 in 47, 1.21ppg, before the Selanne trade.
So before someone says Hartford was a dead team with an uncertain future to excuse Shanahan, consider how Tkachuk responded in a similar situation.
I am on fence between the two players but just want to point out some of Shanahan flaws while everyone else is pointing out Tkachuk's.