The Toronto Maple Leafs will not only finish on the outside looking in at the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016, but they also made a major change at the executive level this week when they parted ways with general manager Brad Treliving.
Currently sitting at 32-30-13 and 73 points, they are too far out to realistically have a shot at making the playoffs, and they’re already without the services of team captain Auston Matthews for the remainder of the season.
Following the removal of Treliving as general manager, Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment and CEO Keith Pelley held a press conference in which he expressed his “disappointment” in how their season has gone.
Toronto Maple Leafs Executive Keith Pelley Addresses The “Disappointment” Of This Season
Now that the Maple Leafs are without a general manager for now, MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley held a press conference in which he not only expressed his disappointment in how events have developed this season, but also their immediate plans moving forward.
“I am disappointed, as I sit here today,” Pelley said. “Disappointed, like we all are, in the results of the team this season, but I am personally affected by having to make this difficult decision and change in leadership for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Like everyone in this room, I have great appreciation and respect for the man, Brad Treliving. He is a good man and an excellent hockey executive.”
“We will immediately begin the search process for the next head of hockey operations for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and during that process, Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy, two of our assistant GMs, will work together to manage the team operations through the end of the season and into the offseason,” he continued. “I don’t believe that the current state of the team rests on Brad’s shoulders. But after analysis throughout the entire year, including countless conversations with key personnel and hockey observers, I made the decision, supported by ownership, that the team must chart a new course under different leadership to achieve our ultimate championship goal.”
The Maple Leafs Anticipate A Speedy Process For Their Next General Manager
Pelley explained that they will waste no time in seeking their next general manager.
“It all can’t happen simultaneously,” he said. “The number one goal right now is for us to move as quickly as we possibly can into an exhaustive search to put somebody in place to run hockey operations, who will be able to make those decisions in terms of the tactical strategies. It’s really vision, strategy, tactics, the right people in place throughout the organization, and then accountability and alignment are the key.”
He also reiterated the plan of putting in place the best possible structure that leads to future team success, something that the new GM will be tasked with overseeing.
“There is no right or wrong way to run it. What we have the ability to do, with the structure and support of ownership that we have, is put the structure in place that gives us the best chance to win and the best chance to have the most hockey expertise possible.”
MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley Sounds Off After Firing Brad Treliving