from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

So Shanahan must now hire a general manager - though, perhaps not in the traditional and narrow historical sense of the job title that would suggest the GM as the boss or the guy who drives the bus on all hockey decision-making.

This new GM’s vision must align with not only Shanahan’s but, to varying degrees, analytics whiz kid Dubas, scouting maven Hunter and number-crunching capologist Pridham. The new GM in Toronto will arrive not to build a managerial team around or below him, but to join an existing one with a well-established philosophy and vision of where the Leafs want to get to and how best to get there.

It may not be for everyone. For some experienced GMs, used to having final authority on all hockey decisions as long as ownership approved, it may not be autonomous enough.

That’s fine. Those who feel that way need not apply because there is absolutely no doubt Shanahan’s primary hiring focus will be to find a somewhat like-minded individual who can work comfortably in the hockey universe Shanahan has created with Dubas, Hunter and Pridham. That isn’t to say there can’t be discourse - I couldn’t think of two individuals who appear to differ more in style and/or personality more than Dubas and Hunter - but there needs to be some commonality of thought and respect for the established hierarchy.

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