Brendan Shanahan

**Brendan Shanahan** (born Brendan Frederick Shanahan on January 23, 1969 in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL for the New Jersey Devils, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings and the New York Rangers.

He currently serves as the president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Previously, he served as the director of player safety for the NHL.

## Playing Career

### New Jersey (1988–1991)

Shanahan was drafted by the New Jersey Devils second overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft after Pierre Turgeon.

Expectations for Shanahan were high after a stellar career with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, with whom his #19 has been retired.

During his rookie season with the Devils (in the 1987–88 season), he scored 26 points in 65 games as an 18-year-old. In the 1988–89 season, he improved to 22 goals and 50 points.

In Shanahan's third NHL season, he emerged as a point-per-game producer with 72 points in 73 games and a top scorer with the Devils; his 30 goals finished tied for second in team goal-scoring behind John MacLean.

In his fourth and final year of his initial stint with the Devils in the 1990–91 season, Shanahan scored 29 goals and 66 points. At the age of 22, he was already an established scorer in the NHL. He had also played well in the Devils' playoff runs.

### St. Louis Blues (1991–1995)

Becoming a free agent following the 1990–91 season, Shanahan was signed by the St. Louis Blues on July 25, 1991.

According to the collective bargaining agreement, he was a restricted free-agent and therefore, the Devils were due compensation. Ordinarily, this compensation would be in the form of draft picks, but the Blues already owed four first-round draft picks to the Washington Capitals for signing defenceman Scott Stevens the previous year.

The Blues made an offer for compensation that consisted of Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind'Amour and two draft picks even further down the road; however, the Devils were only interested in Scott Stevens.

An arbitrator eventually decided that Stevens was to be the compensation, so Shanahan joined the Blues in exchange for Scott Stevens.

While Shanahan's first season for the Blues yielded similar statistics to his seasons with the Devils, he would reach another level in the 1992–93 season with 51 goals and 94 points in 71 games. He finished second in team goal-scoring to Brett Hull and third in team point-scoring overall.

Continuing at that pace in the 1993–94 season, Shanahan recorded personal bests of 52 goals, 50 assists and 102 points. In addition to leading the Blues in points, he was named to the 1994 NHL All-Star Game at mid-season and the NHL First All-Star Team at the end of the year.

During the 1994–95 NHL lockout, he played three games for Düsseldorf EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, scoring five goals and three assists in his short stay overseas.

When NHL play resumed, Shanahan continued to play well for the Blues, recording 41 points in the lockout-shortened season. In the 1995 playoffs, he led the team in scoring with nine points in five games.

### Hartford Whalers (1995–1996)

After four seasons with the Blues, on July 27, 1995, Shanahan was traded to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for defenceman Chris Pronger, succeeding Pat Verbeek as team captain.

In his only full season for Hartford, he scored a team-high 44 goals and 78 points and for his efforts was selected to the 1996 All-Star Game.

However, with the uncertainty of the franchise, Shanahan requested a trade. On October 9, 1996, just two games into the 1996–97 season, he was moved (along with Brian Glynn) to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for forward Keith Primeau, defenceman Paul Coffey and a first-round draft pick.

### Detroit Red Wings (1996-2006)

Shanahan finished off the 1996–97 season with his usual productivity, scoring a total of 47 goals for the season, and also being named to the 1997 NHL All-Star Game.

In the 1997 playoffs, he also contributed with nine goals and eight assists, helping the Red Wings to their first Stanley Cup since 1955.

They repeated as Cup champions the next year, despite an off-season for Shanahan in which he managed just 57 points.

In the 1998–99 season, Shanahan continued at that pace with 58 points, but was still invited to another All-Star Game. Entering the 1999 playoffs as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Red Wings were eliminated by the rival Colorado Avalanche.

In the 1999-2000 season, he scored 41 goals, indicating a return to his usual form,however the Red Wings were once again eliminated by the Avalanche in the 2000 Playoffs.

After the season, he was named to the First All-Star Team for the second time in his career. He followed up his resurgent season scoring 76 points in the 2000–01 season, although Detroit were upset in the first round of the 2001 playoffs to the Los Angeles Kings.

The 2001–02 season was a banner one for both Shanahan and the Red Wings. Having picked up future Hall-of-Famers Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Dominik Hašek in the off-season, the team was primed to win its third Cup since 1997.

They cruised to victory and Shanahan continued to play a big role in their success, scoring 37 goals during the regular season and 19 points in their ultimately-victorious Stanley Cup run. Shanahan also picked up an Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City with Team Canada and was named to the Second NHL All-Star Team.

The season was also of particular statistical significance for Shanahan, as shortly preceding his Olympic gold medal victory, he recorded his 1,000th point in the NHL after scoring two goals against Marty Turco in a 4–2 victory over the Dallas Stars on January 12, 2002.

Later on in the season, Shanahan also reached the 500-goal mark, scoring the game-winner against Patrick Roy in a 2–0 victory over Colorado on March 23. The win also marked a team accomplishment as it clinched a Presidents' Trophy as the top ranked regular-season team.

In the season following Detroit's third Stanley Cup, Shanahan scored 30 goals and 68 points and won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at the end of the year for his humanitarian efforts.

However, in the following season, his production dipped to 25 goals and 53 points, his lowest totals in 15 years.

After a one-year absence due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Shanahan showed yet another return to form in 2005–06, tallying an impressive 40 goals and 81 points, good for third among Red Wings in scoring.

### New York Rangers (2006-2009)

Shanahan became a free agent following the 2005–06 season and subsequently signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the New York Rangers.

After completing a successful nine-year stay in Detroit, he expressed a desire to move on in his NHL career, stating, *"It really came down to an instinct I had. Detroit has a great past and a great future ahead of them as well, but I guess I just felt that maybe I was identified with the past a little bit more than the future."*

Shanahan began his Rangers career by scoring his 599th and 600th career goals against Olaf Kölzig on October 5, 2006, in a 5–3 season opening win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden.

With assists coming from Petr Průcha on both goals, he became just the 15th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal mark.

Shortly thereafter, on November 14, 2006, Shanahan received the inaugural Mark Messier Leadership Award, an award given monthly to a player selected by Mark Messier who best exemplifies leadership skills on and off the ice.

Then, he was selected to his eighth All-Star Game, he was named captain of the Eastern Conference for the 2007 All-Star Game.

On February 1, 2007, he made headlines after expressing frustration in a press conference about his perception that NHL referees are biased against team captain Jaromír Jágr.

Later in the month, Shanahan was involved in a severe on-ice collision with Philadelphia Flyers forward and former Red Wings teammate Mike Knuble in a game on February 17, 2007.

Shanahan and Knuble caught each other skating in opposite directions as Shanahan was headed for the bench, at which point Shanahan hit his head on the ice and was left unconscious for ten minutes. He was carried off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital where he was released the next day.

After missing 15 games, Shanahan returned to the lineup in time for the 2007 playoffs, where the Rangers were defeated by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round. He completed his first season with the Rangers fourth in team scoring with 62 points in 67 games as an alternate captain to Jágr.

After re-signing to another one-year contract with the Rangers, Shanahan struggled to produce offensively as his points total dipped to just 46 points in the 2007–08 season, his lowest total since his rookie season in the 1987–88 season.

With Shanahan's contract expiring in the off-season, he was not tendered an offer by the Rangers, believed to be a result of the Rangers' pursuit of free agent Mats Sundin.

### Return to New Jersey (2009)

Unable to come to terms with the Rangers, Shanahan sat out the first half of the 2008–09 season. On January 10, 2009, it was announced that he agreed to join the New Jersey Devils for his second stint with the team.

Four days later, on January 14, 2009, the terms of the contract were finalized and Shanahan signed a one-year, $800,000 prorated contract. The time between Shanahan's departure from and return to the Devils was 17 years, 294 days, making it the longest gap in tenure with one team in NHL history.

Playing in his first game back with the Devils since the 1990–91 season, he scored the first goal of the game against the Nashville Predators on a 5-on-3 power play by toe dragging the puck around the opposition player and then shooting it on the pad side on January 19 in a 3–1 win.

On August 5, 2009, Shanahan agreed to a one-year deal with the Devils returning for a 22nd season, to play during the 2009–10 season; this would have been Shanahan's sixth season as a Devil.

However, on October 1, 2009, the Devils and Shanahan parted ways, with Shanahan saying, *"When I signed this past summer, Lou Lamoriello, Jacques Lemaire and I agreed that if we were unable to find a suitable fit in which I would be able to compete and contribute at the level I expect from myself, then I would simply step aside."*

He had played just four pre-season games of the 2009–10 season. He scored the Devils' last pre-season goal that year, on one of his last NHL shifts.

## Executive Career

### NHL

On November 17, 2009, Shanahan officially announced his retirement after 21 years in the NHL, saying in a news release: *"I would like to thank my family and all of the friends who have helped me achieve and maintain my childhood dream of playing in the National Hockey League. I am enormously grateful to all of my coaches and teammates I've had the privilege of learning from and playing along side of, throughout my career. While I always dreamed of playing in the NHL, I can't honestly say that I would have ever imagined that I'd be this fortunate and blessed. I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has helped me fulfill this dream."*

In December of 2009, he accepted an offer from the NHL to become the NHL's vice president of hockey and business development.

He told NHL.com, *"In a broad sense, I think obviously, I am going to be another voice in the hockey ops, but at the same time people like [NHL COO] John Collins and [NHL EVP Communications] Gary [Meagher] and [NHL Deputy Commissioner] Bill [Daly] are going to allow me and teach me the business of hockey. What I was excited about in their offer to bring me on board is that it was wide open for me. There was not going to be any room with a closed door and I would be given an opportunity to see and learn. As time goes by there will be some days where my role is more hockey specific and some days where my role is more business or marketing specific."*

On June 1, 2011, Shanahan succeeded Colin Campbell as the NHL's Senior Vice President. When handing out rulings on plays that were sent to his office for review, Shanahan posted videos to the NHL's official Website in which he explained how they either did or did not breach NHL rules.

He narrated all videos except French-language videos involving the Montreal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators; these were narrated by a deputy, Stéphane Quintal.

In his very first season as Senior Vice President, Shanahan delivered multiple suspensions to players for illegal hits.

### Toronto Maple Leafs

On April 11, 2014, Shanahan was officially announced as the Toronto Maple Leafs' president and alternate governor. He is expected to oversee all operations for the hockey club.

On that same day, the NHL announced that Quintal would succeed him as the league's chief disciplinarian.

## International Play

Shanahan has participated in seven international tournaments for Canada:

* 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (Disqualified)
* 1991 Canada Cup (Gold Medal)
* 1994 World Championships (Gold Medal)
* 1996 World Cup of Hockey (Silver Medal)
* 1998 Winter Olympics (4th place)
* 2002 Winter Olympics (Gold Medal)
* 2006 World Championships (Captain, 4th place)

## Accolades

* Three-time Stanley Cup champion – 1997, 1998, 2002;
* Played in the NHL All-Star Game – 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007 (captain);
* Named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1994 and 2000;
* Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2002;
* Awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2003;
* Won the Primus Challenge Bowl with World-Stars team in 2004;
* Led NHL in short-handed goals in 1994;
* Led NHL in powerplay goals in 1997;
* Second-most goals by a left winger – 656;
* Second-most consecutive 20 goal seasons – 19;
* Only player with over 600 goals and 2,000 penalty minutes
* Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
* Holds unofficial record for most Gordie Howe hat tricks by a player during the regular season (17).

## Personal Life

Shanahan is the son of Irish parents, Rosaleen and Donal. He has three brothers: Danny, Brian and Shaun.

He grew up in Mimico, a neighbourhood of Etobicoke (now a part of Toronto), where he attended St. Leo's Catholic School and his family attended St. Leo's Roman Catholic Church. He briefly attended Catholic Central High School in London, Ontario, Canada where he graduated.

Shanahan also attended Michael Power/St. Joseph High School, where he played on the hockey team and won an Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) gold medal in 1985.

In addition to hockey, he also excelled in lacrosse.

On July 4, 1998, Shanahan married his wife Catherine; together, the couple has three children together. On May 17, 2002, he became an American citizen.

Shanahan has also had small roles in a few films; he appeared in a generic role in the film "Me, Myself & Irene" starring Canadian actor Jim Carrey.

## Legacy

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Shanahan was the mastermind of what was dubbed "The Shanahan Summit," a two-day conference in Toronto.

It gathered players, coaches and other influential voices to discuss improvements to the flow and tempo of the game. Ten recommendations were presented to both the NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association.

At the time of his retirement, Shanahan led active NHL players in Gordie Howe hat tricks with 17 and remains tied for second atop the all time leaderboard.

However, not all teams have kept records of this feat and it is even believed that Gordie Howe himself only officially had two.

According to a Yahoo! Sports article, Shanahan would choose to go into the Hall of Fame as a Red Wing, if he had to choose.