The fate of coach Craig Berube isn\u2019t known at this time<\/p>\n
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Published Mar 30, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 52\u00a0minutes ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Brad Treliving\u2019s tenure as Maple Leafs general manager is over.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Leafs announced on Monday night that Treliving has been fired.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout the course of this season, there has been deep analysis into both the current state of the Maple Leafs organization and the direction needed to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup championship to the city,\u201d MLSE President & CEO Keith Pelley said in a statement. \u201cBrad Treliving is a man that we all have deep respect and appreciation for, both as a hockey executive and as a person, but it was determined that the club must chart a new course under different leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cThe organization is grateful for all that Brad has contributed in his nearly three years with the Maple Leafs and we wish him and his family the very best.\u201d<\/p>\n Pelley will meet with media on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n This was a move that had to be made. More on that in a minute.<\/p>\n Named Leafs GM in May 2023, Treliving had a record of 139-92-27, including a mark of 10-10 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.<\/p>\n Treliving took responsibility<\/p>\n Treliving was frank when he met with media on March 6 after the National Hockey League trade deadline passed.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take responsibility for our season,\u201d Treliving said. \u201cI don\u2019t look at today as the autopsy day. I think there\u2019s a whole host of reasons (for the Leafs\u2019 failures). I\u2019ll take responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cWe got off to a poor start. From my standpoint, (there are) some roster construction issues, lack of consistency, the ability to maintain any kind of level. There\u2019s been a whole bunch of factors.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not common to fire a GM with eight games remaining in the regular season, but with the Leafs stumbling and about to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016, Pelley got ahead of what many expected to happen once the Leafs\u2019 season ended on April 15. And it\u2019s believed that if Treliving had a sense of what was coming, he might have wanted to get his departure expedited.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The fate of coach Craig Berube isn\u2019t known, but the expectation has been that he will be let go once the season comes to a close. Presumably, a new GM will want to hire his own coach.<\/p>\n The Leafs were 31-30-13 before they played in Anaheim against the Ducks on Monday night, putting them seventh in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n Could Doug Armstrong be the next GM?<\/p>\n The name of Doug Armstrong continues to be heavy in speculation. Armstrong, the GM of the St. Louis Blues, is slated to relinquish that role to Alexander Steen on July 1, at which point Armstrong will continue as the Blues\u2019 president of hockey operations.<\/p>\n When Treliving publicly took responsibility less than a month ago, I remember thinking, \u201cThen how can he possibly be in the GM\u2019s chair in Toronto beyond this season?\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It was the admission by Treliving, who had one year left on his contract, that roster construction that was an issue that got me. How the team is built, that\u2019s on him. And his roster, as has been borne out all season, was severely flawed.<\/p>\n With the firing done now, Pelley can get a head start on an earnest search.<\/p>\n Yes, Treliving inherited the core of captain Auston Matthews<\/a>, William Nylander, John Tavares and Mitch Marner.<\/p>\n Only Marner was moved, and it was because the Leafs had no choice if they wanted to get anything for him, last June. The return in the sign-and-trade was centre Nicolas Roy, who was one of many disappointments in 2025-26 before he was shipped off to the Colorado Avalanche.<\/p>\n Other players who were added last summer, including Dakota Joshua<\/a> and Matias Maccelli, have not met expectations. A lacerated kidney got in the way of Joshua\u2019s season, and Maccelli became productive only when it was clear the Leafs were not going to the playoffs.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Injuries to stalwart defenceman Chris Tanev limited him to 11 games this season, but a season\u2019s success does not depend on the availability of one player. Had the Leafs been deep on the back end \u2014 and played with more structure as a five-man unit \u2014 they might have been OK. But the defence corps doesn\u2019t have much depth to it and the Tanev loss was too much to overcome.<\/p>\n The lack of good goaltending in the early months certainly was a factor. A lot of the shine on the four-year contract extension for Anthony Stolarz, signed in September and kicking in next season, rubbed off rather quickly.<\/p>\n Trade deadline failure<\/p>\n Treliving did himself no favours when he failed to make much noise at the trade deadline in March. Yes, he managed to trade expiring contracts in forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton rather than lose them for nothing in free agency.<\/p>\n Advertisement 7<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It\u2019s what Treliving got for the Leafs in return that stung. After getting a first-round pick in the Avs deal for Roy, a conditional second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 came back from Seattle in the McMann trade. With McMann\u2019s ability to score, anything less than a first-round pick had to be viewed as a failure.<\/p>\n When Laughton fetched just a 2026 conditional third-round pick from Los Angeles (it becomes a second-round pick if the Kings make the playoffs), it was a harsh blow considering that Treliving sent a first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin to Philadelphia a year earlier to get Laughton.<\/p>\n Sending a first-round pick and Fraser Minten to Boston for defenceman Brandon Carlo last year also turned out to be a big-time blunder and one of the worst trades made by the team in the Matthews era.<\/p>\n Back on March 6, Treliving said everything would be reviewed at the end of the season.<\/p>\n Pelley beat him to the punch.<\/p>\n![\"Brad](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774929877_102_bradbest-e1774919079506.jpg\")
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving walks from the team’s locker room at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Thursday, June 1, 2023. Photo by CHRIS YOUNG \/THE CANADIAN PRESSArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.8.4\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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