Tom Anselmi, the new president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, says he feels your pain, Toronto sports fans.

Anselmi’s job now is to find a way to end this city’s championship drought — heck, getting into the playoffs regularly might be enough — and help get the Maple Leafs to the Stanley Cup, the Raptors to the NBA Finals, the Marlies to the Calder Cup and Toronto FC to the MLS Cup.

“We all feel the pressure to win. It’s all about team success. That is our priority,” said Anselmi. “This town, when we start winning, it’s going to be amazing.”

Anselmi was officially installed Monday as president and chief operating officer — though the title of chief executive officer remains vacant — of MLSE.

“This is probably one of the most coveted titles in sports,” said Richard Powers, assistant dean of the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto. “You can’t underestimate the value of the Maple Leafs brand.”

The new owners of the local sports empire — communications giants Bell and Rogers with 37.5 per cent each — thought enough of the organization’s historic profitability to hire from within. Anselmi started with the Leafs in 1996.

“It feels terrific. I’m excited about our future,” said Anselmi. “For a Toronto guy who grew up playing minor hockey in the west end, it’s an honour and a thrill.”

Anselmi has been the de facto president since Richard Peddie’s retirement — and was long seen as the favourite for the position by Larry Tanenbaum, a 25 per cent stakeholder and chairman of MLSE. Peddie also endorsed him.

Powers said Anselmi’s hiring after an eight-month search wasn’t surprising.

“It’s same old, same old. From an investor’s point of view, that’s good,” added Powers. “What Tom has demonstrated, he can keep a lot of balls in the air. He’s a very good corporate manager. They know what they’re getting.”

Depending on how you look at it, the bar for Anselmi has been set either very high or very low.

It’s high from a financial viewpoint—MLSE is a fiscal powerhouse, worth about $1.7 billion — but low from a championships standpoint, which is what fans care about. Since MLSE came into being — essentially in 1998 when the owners of the Maple Leafs bought the Raptors and the under-construction Air Canada Centre — the organization has won exactly zero championships.

The Leafs haven’t been to the playoffs since 2004. The Raptors won a division title in 2007, but haven’t been back to the playoffs since 2008. The Marlies made it to the final of the Calder Cup this spring.

“Sports is cyclical,” said Anselmi. “This organization came together in 1997, 1998. The first half of that, we had a pretty good run. We’ve been in a down cycle now for too long.

“The plan now is to get on the right side of the cycle.”

Brian Burke remains president and general manager of the Leafs. Bryan Colangelo remains president and GM of the Raptors. Burke has one more year left on a deal believed to pay him $3 million annually. Colangelo has one year left — plus a team option for 2013-14 — at a salary estimated at $4 million.

“From the fan’s point of view, (Anselmi) is the guy who’ll decide on Brian Burke and Bryan Colangelo,” said Powers. “Tom’s going to be very hard-pressed not to make changes if those two sports teams don’t turn around this year.”

The soccer team, Toronto FC, has never made the playoffs. With frequent coaching changes, it seems in a perpetual building program, already surpassed from a wins and losses point of view by expansion teams in Montreal and Vancouver. Troubling, to some fans anyway, is that TFC is the one team that was directly under Anselmi’s control.

But Vijay Setlur, a lecturer at the Schulich School of Business at York University, figured Anselmi’s hands-on approach with the soccer team may end up being a benefit.

“I could see him taking on a more of an active approach with the operations end of the teams,” said Setlur. “Not only does he have a lot of passion for sports and the teams under MLSE’s umbrella, but he wants to win as badly as anyone else.”

Powers thought it surprising that Anselmi did not get the CEO title.

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“They may think at some point they will put a CEO in above him,” said Powers. “Or it’s a bit of an incentive for him. It’s his to lose.”

In his new role, Anselmi oversees all MLSE operations and reports in the interim to the MLSE board through the chair.

“Tom’s proven strength in operations has made him a respected leader here at MLSE and across the sports and entertainment industry,” Tanenbaum said in a news release. “Passion for our teams and our fans makes Tom the perfect choice.”

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