Who’s in line to become the next Leafs GM?
The Toronto Maple Leafs sent shockwaves through the hockey world on Tuesday when they relieved GM Brad Treliving.
Nearly three years following his hire after stepping away from the Calgary Flames, Treliving’s tenure will be remembered as the one that oversaw the end of the team’s Stanley Cup window during the Auston Matthews era.
Subjectively speaking, Treliving’s run as GM was an unmitigated disaster. From irresponsibly trading assets for depth players, to hiring Craig Berube as head coach, to prematurely locking in Anthony Stolarz on a contract extension, there wasn’t much positive to look back on during the Treliving era in Toronto.
As for his replacement, MLSE CEO Keith Pelley said Wednesday during his media availability that the next GM will have to be ‘’data driven.’’ That can mean a lot of things – and is certainly ironic given that Kyle Dubas was once the GM of the Leafs – but it did hint that perhaps this wouldn’t be as simple a hire as many of us thought.
The low-hanging fruit is St Louis Blues president of hockey operations and GM Doug Armstrong. He is set to step back from the latter of the two aforementioned titles this summer. Armstrong has been linked to the Leafs for several years and is considered by many (including two GMs that Daily Faceoff spoke with over the past two days) to take over in Toronto. But maybe it isn’t so simple after Pelley’s comments over the past two days.
Though Armstrong is stepping away from the GM seat in St. Louis, there are those who believe he still wants to run an NHL team, according to league sources. Additionally, there are changes going on in the Blues’ front office, with Alex Steen set to move up to GM and Scott Mellanby, currently an advisor, thought to be taking on a more significant role under the shake-up, league sources told DFO.
Chris Pronger has been all over hockey media this season and has been outspoken about his views on how the Leafs should handle their roster moving forward. Though he lacks a wealth of managerial experience, Pronger worked in the Florida Panthers’ front office during the 2010s as an advisor. Additionally, he interviewed for the POHO position with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2023, which ultimately went to Keith Jones.
According to Flyers sources, one thing that stood out about Pronger during his interview with the Flyers was that he wanted to have full say over the hockey operations department. As we’ve come to know in Philadelphia, it is more of a balanced overview between Jones and GM Danny Briere.
There are other names floating around, but one that hasn’t been talked about is Boston Bruins assistant GM Jamie Langenbrunner. Langenbrunner has quietly done a very nice job in Boston, overseeing the team’s pro scouting department. That has arguably been the organization’s strongest facet over the last several seasons. When asked by league sources whether the Leafs had contacted the Bruins and/or Langenbrunner, neither confirmation nor denial was provided to DFO.
Though perhaps not as GM, I wonder if Minnesota Wild director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett could be on the Leafs’ radar. The Leafs’ prospect cupboard is bare and could use Brackett’s expertise in the area to help reload in that department. His work with the Wild has been well documented for quite some time.
Brackett may get consideration from other teams looking to reshape their front offices this summer, such as the Nashville Predators and Vancouver Canucks. Barry Trotz has already announced he is stepping down from his GM position in Nashville, while there are some rumblings that a similar change could be coming for the Canucks, as well.
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