When Toronto-born Brendan Shanahan took over as President of his hometown Maple Leafs in 2014, he said he had a plan. A little over four years later, with Shanahan's plans all but realized, his newly minted GM, Kyle Dubas, put the cherry on top by signing National Hockey League (NHL) superstar John Tavares.
To provide some background for those unfamiliar with the NHL, hockey players of John Tavares' caliber almost never leave the teams that drafted them. Yet on July 1, 2018, there was Tavares – another Toronto boy – returning home to make a childhood dream come true.
Immediately, fans, media and probably other NHL GMs were left wondering, mouths agape, how in the world the Toronto Maple Leafs pulled it off?