{"id":533255,"date":"2026-03-31T18:20:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/533255\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:20:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T18:20:34","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-linked-with-hall-of-fame-enforcer-for-gm-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/533255\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Linked With Hall of Fame Enforcer for GM Job"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-1301629696-e1774979705308.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nhl\/toronto-maple-leafs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> were already set to have a busy offseason this summer. After all, the club is enduring its worst season in a decade, and significant roster changes are necessary. Nevertheless, the situation has amped up a notch because team officials <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nhl\/toronto-maple-leafs\/maple-leafs-fire-general-manager\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">fired general manager Brad Treliving<\/a> on March 30.<\/p>\n<p>While certainly eyebrow-raising, the move to relieve Treliving of his duties certainly makes sense. The Maple Leafs are currently worse off than they were before the now former GM entered the fray in 2023. Treliving may also not be the only major subtraction coming to Toronto. Head coach Craig Berube\u2019s future with the Leafs is precarious as well.<\/p>\n<p>A decision regarding Berube may not come until after management hires a new GM. At the moment, <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nhl\/st-louis-blues\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">St. Louis Blues<\/a> president and general manager is widely seen as the frontrunner for the Toronto job. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7159796\/2026\/03\/31\/maple-leafs-gm-search-candidates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">The Athletic\u2019s Joshua Kloke<\/a> specifically listed Armstrong atop his potential candidate list on March 31. Armstrong does have a fairly impressive r\u00e9sum\u00e9, including two Stanley Cup triumphs as an exec.<\/p>\n<p>While Armstrong is the leading candidate, there are other options. One particularly interesting choice could be Chris Pronger. The Hall of Fame defenseman retired from the ice in 2012 and later worked in the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nhl\/florida-panthers\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida Panthers<\/a> organization as an advisor. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/nhl\/article\/early-trading-when-was-the-decision-made-to-fire-brad-treliving\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">TSN\u2019s Darren Dreger<\/a> recently ran through a list of contenders for the Leafs GM job and claimed that Pronger was \u201cpossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Chris Pronger Would be Top Choice if Toronto Maple Leafs Don\u2019t Focus on Experience<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5871242\" class=\"size-inline wp-image-5871242\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-984326476-e1774980120361.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"782\" height=\"440\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5871242\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyChris Pronger previously worked for the NHL Player Safety Department and the Florida <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/carolina-panthers\/\" title=\"Panthers\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"210417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Dreger, however, is not the only NHL insider to point towards Pronger. Toronto Sun reporter Terry Koshan also linked the former intimidating defenseman with the Maple Leafs. During a recent appearance on Leafs Morning Take, Koshan claimed that Pronger would be an interesting choice if Toronto does not necessarily focus on experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPronger, I just think he\u2019s a brilliant mind for the game,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LMTake_\/status\/2039021684078915995\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">claimed Koshan<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s won. And there\u2019s absolutely no nonsense with him. You know, I think he\u2019s a guy that the Maple Leafs would have to consider if you\u2019re going to go the route with someone who doesn\u2019t necessarily have that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Potentially picking Pronger over a more experienced exec such as Armstrong would be risky. Nevertheless, Armstrong\u2019s track record in recent years has not exactly been stellar. The Blues currently have fewer points than the Leafs, and the team is also heading towards big roster changes. The exec was also at the helm for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockeycanada.ca\/en-ca\/news\/coaches-named-for-olympics-2026-olym\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Team Canada\u2019s recent failure<\/a> at the Olympics in Italy.<\/p>\n<p>Pronger Would Accept Call From Toronto Management<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly enough, Pronger recently discussed how the new Leafs GM should start the job <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/thegoldenmuzzy\/status\/2038773604876222701\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">on Leafs Morning Take<\/a>. The former defenseman specifically pointed to figuring out if star players with no-move clauses, including Auston Matthews and William Nylander, really want to be there. The hard-nosed blueliner even admitted that he would <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TLNdc\/status\/2038733803489796105\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">take a call from Toronto<\/a> if they were interested in him.<\/p>\n<p>Whichever way Toronto ultimately opts to go, the club should take its time when choosing a new general manager. Rushing into a decision may end up just making the situation worse. Leafs fans also have to show patience as well. No matter who the team selects, things are not exactly going to be completely solved overnight.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/christophermoore32\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Christopher Moore<\/a> Christopher Moore has been a Heavy.com contributor since 2025. With over a decade of experience in the industry, he has published thousands of articles reporting on multiple professional sports. He was previously a sports writer for World Soccer Talk, the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and the Maryland Sports Blog. <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/christophermoore32\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Christopher Moore<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Maple Leafs\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Toronto Maple Leafs were already set to have a busy offseason this summer. After all, the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5106],"tags":[5,20,5172,4,66,31,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-533255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-maple-leafs","10":"tag-mapleleafs","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","14":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116325177068065156","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}