Some thoughts on the Maple Leafs’ GM change, how it went down and where things are headed:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 The 2026-27 season was the final year of Brad Treliving\u2019s original contract. The Maple Leafs were not going to allow a cliffhanger. The choice was extend him or move on. I\u2019m not sure how far along it went, but, according to multiple sources, over the Olympic break, there was at least one conversation about extending Treliving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With his firing coming 24 days after the trade deadline, some Leafs fans wondered how the GM was allowed make decisions at that time. There\u2019s your answer. When the Olympics ended on Feb. 23, there was still a chance he\u2019d have the job next September.<\/p>\n
Where did it change? Things nosedived when the season resumed, two wins in 14 games. But it often goes deeper than results, and although Pelley took pains to avoid specific complaints, there are two statements from his Tuesday media conference that stand out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first was that the next leader has to \u201creally understand data and the importance of data and where data is moving\u2026Every single decision that we will make will be evidence-based. Evidence-based decisions are never wrong. That’s not to say that there’s not room for the heart, that doesn’t mean there’s not room to check culture, but it’s evidence-based.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pelley sat in meetings for a day or two at\/around the deadline. Something about the process did not satisfy him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second quote was about culture. While stating \u201cI don’t believe that the current state of the team rests entirely on Brad’s shoulders,\u201d Pelley added, \u201cWe didn’t have the alignment, we didn’t have the culture, we didn’t have the structure that we needed to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
That could mean several things, but one of the situations he is believed to be referring to is the lack of immediate on-ice reaction to Radko Gudas\u2019s knee to Auston Matthews. Ironically, hours after Treliving was fired, the Maple Leafs and Ducks engaged in a nasty, fight-filled rematch where Max Domi fought Gudas at the opening draw. Toronto won in overtime, one of the most intense and entertaining games of the season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I also believe the Maple Leafs considered bringing back Treliving with changes around him, but ultimately decided against it.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Pelley took several internal and external meetings over the past few months to get opinions\/ideas. This bothered the Hockey Operations staff, who felt people on the outside were trying to undermine them. About a week ago, as rumours intensified that Treliving was in trouble, the GM asked for clarity. Again, according to several sources, he made it clear he felt this was a one-year blip (something Pelley agreed with in his media conference) and wanted to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, he also asked that if the organization wished to fire him, just do it. Don\u2019t let things drag. There is organizational precedence for this. In 2004, Raptors GM Glen Grunwald, in the final year of his contract, asked about his future. When the team told him they would not be keeping him, Grunwald said there was no point in delaying, so he was let go with eight games to play.<\/p>\n
In this case, I believe Pelley had to ask ownership permission, which was granted. As he said Tuesday, it allows them to get started early on the process.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Pelley\u2019s comments about data reverberated across the industry. \u201cThere aren\u2019t a lot of people who fit that description,\u201d an executive said. Another pointed out the Maple Leafs already have a deep data department, led by Darryl Metcalf, a super sharp guy who is one of the assistant GMs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pelley, however, also made sure to point out any data-driven leader must be surrounded by hockey-smart supporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s my theory: I work for Rogers, majority owners of MLSE. I don\u2019t really mix with its leadership \u2014 more their choice than mine, of course \u2014 but over 11 years, I have a better understanding of how it functions and what\u2019s important.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rogers (and Sportsnet) aren\u2019t afraid to spend money, to try things. But they believe these gambles must make sense. They need hard evidence. They\u2019ll debate, and they\u2019ll challenge, but they\u2019ll take their chances if presented something they can buy into. Pelley, their sporting liaison, knows that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, what he\u2019s saying is the Maple Leafs’ next Hockey Operations leader must be someone who can explain their vision to ownership in a way they understand and will want to follow. Then do it again and again and again with all of the decisions that must be made.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t do that, you\u2019re not getting this job.<\/p>\n
\u2022 As it stands, I don\u2019t have clarity on what St. Louis owner Tom Stillman is willing to consider \u2014 if anything. This summer, Doug Armstrong moves into an overseer role for incoming GM Alexander Steen. The last time there was a Toronto opening, members of the Leafs ownership wanted to at least talk to Armstrong, but Stillman shut it down. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n
\u2022 You\u2019re kidding yourself if you don\u2019t believe there\u2019s going to be a ton of interest. The risks are high, but so are the rewards. I\u2019ll throw out a few names, but generally hate doing that because I guarantee I\u2019ll be missing some serious contenders. Overall experience matters, but we\u2019re also on a run of first-time GMs winning Stanley Cups.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I believe there\u2019s been some contact with former Canucks GM Mike Gillis, who definitely embraces the data-driven desires. (A couple of sources indicated he also spoke to Nashville, but won\u2019t be the new GM hire. Speaking of the Predators and Maple Leafs, Nashville sought permission to speak to Brandon Pridham, currently Toronto\u2019s interim co-GM with Ryan Hardy.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t be craving a front-facing role, but Dean Lombardi is someone else I can see resurfacing from witness protection to survey the landscape. He\u2019s an evidenced-based guy, too. If Jason Spezza feels he\u2019s ready, I can\u2019t imagine why he wouldn\u2019t get an interview. If they want a fresh-faced data-driver, Florida\u2019s Sunny Mehta fits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s lots out there. We\u2019re just getting started.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some thoughts on the Maple Leafs’ GM change, how it went down and where things are headed:\u00a0 \u2022…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533672,"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-533671","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\/116326320364292666","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533671","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=533671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}