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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving at his introductory press conference would not reveal if bringing in new people to the organization was an immediate consideration, but on Thursday the Leafs announced what could the first of many managerial changes, adding former NHLer Shane Doan as an assistant to the GM.
Doan played 1540 games between Winnipeg and Arizona over 21 seasons and over the last three seasons has been involved in management for Canada internationally for the World Championships, the Spengler Cup, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Doan joined the Coyotes front office as their Chief Hockey Development Officer, but he left the organization last September.
Doan has a relationship with Treliving going back to 2001, when he started as an assistant GM of the Coyotes.
The 46-year-old also is the owner of the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers (where Leafs prospect Fraser Minten plays) and has a relationship with Auston Matthews going back to his teenage years in Arizona.
Based on his title, it sounds like Doan will have a similar role to what Jason Spezza had under Kyle Dubas, but it could be more extensive based on his experience since retiring from the NHL in 2017.