Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley’s first season at the helm of the Toronto Maple Leafs featured some progress whether you agree with it or not.

It doesn’t mean the progress was anywhere close to good enough, especially not for year 9 of the current era of Leafs, but they took strides in areas that they were never able to accomplish under in previous years. I’m not sitting here suggesting that the Leafs finally won the Atlantic Division and made it to Game 7 of the second round because of Pelley himself, but in his first season of watching the team closely, he was able to see them hit these milestones led by the head coach and general manager he’ll be working with on a closer level each day starting next season.

“Winning is the only thing that matters,” Pelley told media at his press conference on Friday. “That’s what I said last year, that’s what ownership is committed to, that’s what we’re committed to. I have the utmost confidence in Brad [Treliving] and Craig [Berube]. I’m not looking to replace Brendan [Shanahan], I’m looking to work closer with Brad and Craig. In any other business, we will evaluate all facets of the organization in terms of how we utilize resources.”

Pelley drew on his experience putting together winning teams when he was running the European Tour, winning the Ryder Cup twice during his nine-year tenure. There’s a sick joke to be found in Pelley using golf of all things to inspire hope for the Maple Leafs, but he also referenced the Premier League and how high of a standard European football teams are held to, especially the winning ones.

“You’ve seen the passion, and the tribalism that exists. I saw it this year, more than I could remember.” Pelley said. “And that tribalism reminded me of my involvement with European football and what happens in the Premier League. Where, people are invested. They’re invested in their team. It matters so much, for a lot of people in Europe and a lot of people now in Toronto. They’re as happy as the team is playing well. And there’s nothing more evident than seeing that on Sunday [Game 7].”

Having somebody who understands the importance of winning from a global perspective is something that can only be used as an asset. But, at the same time, this is a results-based business, and as everybody in the Toronto circle knows all too well, the results haven’t been there.

The only way for Pelley to show that he’s different is to deliver on his promises, and at bare minimum, understand the passion of the fanbase and how much this city truly longs for a Stanley Cup. This is a fanbase that will talk about you in bars 15 years after you block a shot or win a fight. The individual accomplishments and goal-scoring are great, but this is a blue-collar fanbase that just wants an honest effort, if nothing else.

Pelley made several remarks about the importance of fan support and looking for ways to get them more involved. He cited a fan access program that will be returning.

“There will be in the neighbourhood of 150 tickets next year ,that will be given away on a day-to-day basis, where people can enter into draws.” Pelley explained. “What we need to do, you see it outside with the younger demographic and the tailgate party. Fan access, the age group is 15 years younger than the age group of our season tickets. So, that’s pretty significant.”

Giving away free tickets is a great way to get diehards into the stands. The best way to do that would be to lower ticket prices, but that point has been beaten into oblivion and remains a story for a different day. If nothing else, Pelley needs to ensure that the fans are heard and can look at him as a fellow fan, somebody who wants to see the team win at all costs. This isn’t to suggest that Shanahan didn’t want them to win, but when you’ve got a direct relationship between ownership and the general manager/head coach, you know that the highest level is at least more involved in the conversations. It inspires more hope than a situation with Brad Treliving having to go through a President of Hockey Operations who then presents it to a board of directors.

Despite this, it’s also important that Pelley isn’t ~too~ involved with everything. As much as it’s nice having a CEO who’s invested in winning, you don’t want to let a power struggle seep in and turn it into a Jerry Jones situation. Pelley is aware of this and said he plans on letting the hockey related people make the hockey related decisions.

All of this is to say that eliminating the middle man and having an owner, a general manager, and a coach who all share the same vision for the team is a change that this team is probably better off for making. You call on the core players and the team itself to deliver when it matters most, because after all, they’re the ones that have to turn the vision into results, but that circles right back to the initial point about why the change was needed.

Shanahan stuck firmly to his vision for 11 years, which is a good thing on paper but ultimately cost him his job and likely deprived the Leafs of some success they could have had earlier. Pelley needs to be open to pivoting if something isn’t going right, and it seems like he’s already gotten the message.

“I’m not here to talk about individual details on players or such,” Pelley said when asked if bringing back the same roster is something that could be accepted by the fans. “I’m only talking about a grandiose holistic plan of ‘we want to win championships’ and if that’s what needed, and change is needed, then we will make that. Change is natural in sport, but change is hard.”

It can’t be said enough. Results need to come, and they need to come soon. The wheels will be in motion once the playoffs end and everybody has shifted into offseason mode, and we’ll soon see what the trio of Pelley, Treliving, and Craig Berube can do for this team going forward. Pelley can only do so much to win fans over. He’ll likely only meet with the media once or twice a year, and he won’t be the one scouting players or free agents. If he wants to keep the fanbase at bay, the least he can do is make himself relatable.