Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadian American professional ice hockey executive and former player who serves as the president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the director of player safety for the National Hockey League (NHL).

Expectations for Shanahan were high after a stellar career with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), with whom his number 19 has been retired.

In his third NHL season, he emerged as a point-per-game producer with 72 points in 73 games and a top scorer with the Devils; his 30 goals finished tied for second in team goal-scoring behind John MacLean.

The Blues made an offer for compensation that consisted of Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind'Amour and two draft picks even further down the road.

During the 1994–95 NHL lockout, Shanahan played three games for Düsseldorf EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), scoring five goals and three assists in his short stay overseas.

After four seasons with the Blues, on July 27, 1995, Shanahan was traded to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for defenceman Chris Pronger,[5] succeeding Pat Verbeek as team captain.

In Shanahan's only full season for Hartford, he scored a team-high 44 goals and 78 points and for his efforts was selected to the 1996 All-Star Game.

With the uncertainty of the franchise, however, Shanahan requested a trade,[5] and on October 9, 1996, just two games into the 1996–97 season, he was moved with Brian Glynn to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Keith Primeau, defenseman Paul Coffey, and a first-round draft pick.

Entering the 1999 playoffs as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, the Red Wings were eliminated by the rival Colorado Avalanche.

The next year, in 1999–2000, Shanahan scored 41 goals, indicating a return to his usual form, however, the Red Wings were once again eliminated by the Avalanche in the 2000 playoffs.

Having picked up future Hall-of-Famers Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Dominik Hašek in the off-season, the team was primed to win its third Cup since 1997.

[7] In the season following Detroit's third Stanley Cup, Shanahan scored 30 goals and 68 points and won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for his humanitarian efforts.

After a one-year absence due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Shanahan showed yet another return to form in 2005–06, tallying an impressive 40 goals and 81 points, third among Red Wings in scoring.

[8] After completing a successful nine-year stay in Detroit, he expressed a desire to move on in his NHL career, stating, "It really came down to an instinct I had.

[10] On February 1, 2007, he made headlines after expressing frustration in a press conference about his perception that NHL referees are biased against team captain Jaromír Jágr.

[11] Later in the month, he was involved in a severe on-ice collision with Philadelphia Flyers forward and former Red Wings teammate Mike Knuble in a game on February 17.

[12] After missing 15 games, Shanahan returned to the lineup in time for the 2007 playoffs, where the Rangers were defeated by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round.

Shanahan completed his first season with the Rangers fourth in team scoring with 62 points in 67 games as an alternate captain to Jágr.

[14] The time between Shanahan's departure from and return to the Devils was 17 years, 294 days, the longest gap in tenure with one team in NHL history.

Shanahan spoke at the World Hockey Summit in 2010, and sought to bring the fun back into youth developing skills for the game.

[28] On the ice, the Maple Leafs, led by Shanahan (along with acting GM's Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter) drafted Toronto-area native Mitch Marner 4th overall in the 2015 draft and traded forward Phil Kessel, the Maple Leafs' scoring leader for each of his six seasons on the team, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a package which included a first-round pick and prospect Kasperi Kapanen.

However, the season brought some optimism as prospects William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown, and Zach Hyman made their NHL debuts.

[34] Over the next few years, the Maple Leafs established themselves as a contender in the NHL, behind the core of Matthews, Marner, Nylander and Morgan Rielly, making the playoffs in each of the following three seasons but failing to advance past the first round each time.

[35][36][37] At the end of the 2017–18 season, Lamoriello left the organization for the New York Islanders and assistant GM Kyle Dubas, Shanahan's first major hire back when he first arrived, was promoted to replace him.

[38] Another major acquisition occurred in free agency in 2018, as star centre John Tavares joined the Maple Leafs on a 7-year contract.

[39] Shanahan also approved Dubas' decision to fire Babcock in November 2019, amidst a poor start to the 2019–20 season, and the hiring of Sheldon Keefe to replace him.

[citation needed] Shanahan briefly attended Catholic Central High School in London, Ontario, where he graduated.