McCrimmon courted by Leafs, stays with Brandon

Brendan-Shanahan-Toronto-Maple-Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan. (Chris Young/CP)

Kelly McCrimmon, who was courted by the Toronto Maple Leafs for a front-office position, will not be venturing east.

McCrimmon, the owner, general manager and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings, announced Monday his plans to return for the 2015-16 Western Hockey League season.

“I have made the decision to remain with the Wheat Kings,” McCrimmon said via team release. “I was honoured to have been considered for a position with the Maple Leafs. It would have been a tremendous opportunity.”

The WHL’s Executive of the Year discussed a management position with the Maple Leafs, a team currently operating without a general manager.


Download it FREE now: iOS | Android | Windows

Interim co-GMs Mark Hunter and Kyle Dubas report to president Brendan Shanahan.

“With our team expected to contend this season, I felt I owed it to the group to stay here and try to help us take the next step,” McCrimmon said.

The Wheat Kings won the Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy as the WHL’s regular-season champions in 2014-15 with a record of 53-11-4-4.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.