‘I’m Like A Typical Leafs Fan, Everything Concerns Me’: Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan Talks Defence, William Nylander and Regulation Wins

"I think over the last 10 games our team has played much better and has that rhythm and cohesive 20-man unit game," he said. 

The Maple Leafs are 12-6-4 this season with 11 of their 22 games going into overtime. Over the last 10 games, Toronto is 6-2-2. 

"The results have been good, we want it to be better," Shanahan admitted. "Our record is strong but we’re looking to get that entire game back."

There have been multiple reports that the Maple Leafs are in search of adding to their defensive depth with Chris Tanev of the Calgary Flames identified as a person of interest to Toronto.

In the meantime, Shanahan has been pleased with the way defensemen William Lagesson, Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins have stepped in in the wake of injuries to John Klingberg (hip), Timothy Liljegren (ankle) and Mark Giordano (thumb).

"We’re hopeful that our players are on the mend," he said. "I think the guys that we’ve called up from the Marlies have done a really good job for us. You’re always looking to make the team better. Brad (Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliivng) is always on the phone making those calls. But in the meantime, we deal with what we have."

Shanahan was asked if he was concerned that William Nylander's red-hot start to the season was of concern in the negotiation process since that might drive the asking price up, the president didn't bite, holding to both the team and client's wishes to stay mum.

"If you get concerned because you have players who are playing really good hockey, you’ve got to check yourself," Shanahan said. "I’m not going to talk about the details about that. But more for us as a group of individuals we just continue to improve."

Nylander opened the season on a 17-game points streak and scored 12 goals and added 15 assists in that span. Things have cooled for the pending unrestricted free agent, who has just two assists in his last five games.