Despite having only one playoff-round win to his name in his 10 years as Toronto Maple Leafs president, Brendan Shanahan is staying on in Toronto.

New Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley delivered the news in Friday’s season-end media availability with Leafs management.

“Brendan Shanahan is the president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s a champion,” Pelley said.

When asked, Shanahan declined to clarify his contract status – including the length remaining on his current deal – moving forward.

“My contract status will not be a distraction,” Shanahan said.

Shanahan sat between Pelley and Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. Just as former head coach Sheldon Keefe did multiple times before being fired on Thursday, Shanahan took blame for the lack of postseason success during his tenure with the Leafs.

“The ultimate responsibility is on me. The accountability is on me,” Shanahan said. “Our playoff results have not been good enough. That’s on me.”

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All three executives struck a solemn chord on Friday, attempting to show visible frustration with the Leafs’ results as of late.

“Good is simply not good enough,” Pelley said. “We need to win. Nothing else matters. No doubt you’ve heard that before. But I am 1,000 percent committed to it.”

Pelley seemed intent on sticking with what he’s seen and not making change for change’s sake. How will that be done?

Under Shanahan, the Leafs have qualified for the postseason in the last eight seasons. Their lone series win came in 2023 over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs have lost in the final, series-deciding game of the opening round in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2024 under Shanahan’s watch.

In less than a week since the Leafs’ first-round exit, questions continued leading up to Friday about whether Shanahan should continue in his role given the Leafs’ lack of postseason results under his watch. Pelley said he has seen enough since beginning his post on April 2 to continue with Shanahan at the top of the Leafs management structure.

“I’ve always believed that the formula for success is great skill combined with chemistry and unity. And in the midst of facing adversity in the first series down 3-1, I got a full glimpse of the chemistry and unity that (Treliving) and (Shanahan) have,” Pelley said. “I cannot comment on what has transpired over the last number of years but I can tell you that chemistry and unity is the critical components that add with skill in order to be successful. And winning is winning the Stanley Cup.”

“I wake up every day with the goal of trying to add and make the Maple Leafs better,” Shanahan added.

On Thursday, the Leafs fired Keefe. Keefe had won the team’s only playoff round since 2004, but continued lack of playoff success was enough for Shanahan and co. to show Keefe the door. Treliving said on Friday that he believed Keefe was a good coach but change was necessary.

Without saying it explicitly, the #leafs leadership/management couldn’t have made it more clear reading between the lines that they’re going to explore moving one or more members of their core this summer.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 10, 2024

“I felt strongly that a new voice was needed,” Treliving said. “That’s the unfortunate part of this business.”

Treliving’s first task ahead of him in what could be a busy summer will be finding a new coach. He declined to comment on specific names of coaches available, such as Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube, but said “We want to be thorough but we also understand there’s other openings.”

When it comes to continuing that change beyond the head coach position, at least publicly, the Leafs brass feel open to making serious adjustments to the roster.

“When you go through a season that you’ve had, everything is on the table,” Treliving said.

After Monday’s availability with players, even more questions emerged about the future of Leafs star Mitch Marner, who is entering the final year of his contract. While Marner has said he wants to remain a Leaf, the notion of keeping the team’s highly-paid core together without playoff success appears untenable.

“We will look at everything this summer and we will consider everything this summer,” Shanahan said.

(Photo of Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)