Brendan Shanahan to join Leafs

— -- Brendan Shanahan appears set to leave his job as NHL disciplinarian and become the Toronto Maple Leafs' president, a source confirmed to ESPN.com on Thursday.

An announcement is expected as early as Friday, according to the source.

The Toronto Star earlier reported Thursday evening that Shanahan would be joining the Leafs over the next few days.

The source told ESPN.com that talks had intensified between the Leafs and Shanahan over the past 48 hours and the expectation, barring a last-minute hiccup, was that a deal would get done.

News broke Wednesday that the Leafs had communicated interest in Shanahan for a potential job, likely as team president.

The Leafs were eliminated from postseason play earlier this week, missing the playoffs for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.