ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving late into his third season in charge, with the team set to miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Keith Pelley announced the abrupt change Monday night before Toronto played at Anaheim.
“Throughout 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,” Pelley said in a statement. “Brad Treliving is a man that we all have deep respect for, but it was determined that the club must chart a new course under different leadership.”
It’s unclear what the move means for the future of coach Craig Berube, whom Treliving hired in May 2024. Berube won the Cup with St. Louis in 2019.
The Leafs have not won it since 1967 and are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention this season. This core — led by Auston Matthews — reached the playoffs nine consecutive years but won just two series in that time.
Cutting ties with Treliving came after a rematch against the Ducks a little over two weeks since one of the touchpoints of Toronto’s woeful few months, when Matthews was injured on a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas and none of his teammates responded to a play that incurred a five-game suspension.
Treliving was hired in May 2023 after then-president of hockey operations Brendan Shanahan fired GM Kyle Dubas. Shanahan did not have his contract renewed last year following a second-round exit, and no one took his spot in between Pelley and Treliving in the organizational pecking order.
Shanahan, Dubas and predecessor Lou Lamoriello constructed the top of the roster, from Matthews and John Tavares to Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Treliving was running the team last summer when Marner’s most recent contract expired and recouped some value in a sign-and-trade with Vegas rather than losing him for nothing.
Treliving, who was in his second NHL GM job following a lengthy stint with the Calgary Flames from 2014-23, was responsible for a handful of significant moves during his tenure in Toronto. That included an ill-fated deal at the deadline last year for defenseman Brandon Carlo that included sending Fraser Minten to Boston.
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