Maple Leafs
Shakeup
New Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has the easy wins under his belt; now comes the real challenge he was hired for. Michael Chisholm / Getty Images
It was 12 years ago, almost to the day, that then-Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan renewed his embattled head coach’s contract after a disastrous season.
Randy Carlyle was gifted a two-year extension to his deal following an ugly 84-point campaign, as the Leafs new-look front office wanted time to evaluate what they had. Less than eight months later, they knew: Carlyle was fired, and Toronto (again) cratered into the league’s basement, as the rebuild that became this franchise’s Core Four era truly began.
