New Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan hadn't spoken since the unexpected decision to fire head coach Randy Carlyle came down earlier this week.
Shanahan broke that silence Friday at a midseason, state of the organization press conference.
Speaking to the assembled NHL media at the Air Canada Centre, Shanahan addressed the decision-making process behind Carlyle's axing - a decision he attributes to GM Dave Nonis, though he allowed that he "agreed with him" - the possibility of moves being made and the now increased pressure on the players to perform up to snuff.
"Generally speaking, when we do have a big decision to make on a direction we want to go, we discuss it as a group. I think that Dave felt that it was his job to make that call. I agreed with him," Shanahan said of the decision to dismiss Carlyle, according to Ian Shantz of The Toronto Sun. "He's the general manager. He made that call. But we make all these decisions as a group. We don't hide behind any one person. I can tell you we have healthy debates within the group. And then, once we do make the decision, we move forward as a group."
As for the performance of the players - a performance Shanahan dubbed "not good enough," pointing especially to the lack of consistency from stars like Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel - Shanahan said that the pressure to the right ship under interim coach Peter Horachek now rests solely with them.
"We have not been consistent enough. The entire team, we're going to learn a lot more. There's a lot more pressure on them. They know it. They know that individually some of them have to be better. As a team they have to be better."
The Leafs, 21-17-3 and in sixth place in the Atlantic, have been a sporadic, inconsistent bunch this year.
Shanahan addressed the players as a group on Friday and made them aware that the front office is watching and won't be afraid to make any moves they see as necessary to changing the culture and outlook of the franchise.
"Any time there is a coaching change, there's an opportunity for players to look at themselves. You know that the spotlight is going to be shined on you. You hope to impress the new coach and get the trust of the new coach. As much as we've been assessing guys throughout the season, it's another opportunity for us to see guys under a new coach and see how they respond and react."
Shanahan, who spent 22 seasons as an NHL player, said that all teams - even those high up in the standings with a bevy of points and realistic Stanley Cup aspirations - face adversity at times. And it's up to the players, and speaks directly to their depth of character, how they deal with it.
"The idea that some of these cities that have had some established winning in recent years are not going through some of their own bits of adversity, it's a mistake," Shanahan said. "Every team has to deal with their own bits of adversity. To me, what's most important is not necessarily avoiding adversity, because it's impossible to do that in a hockey season.
"What's always been more important to me is, how does our group respond to adversity."
