After the news broke that the Toronto Maple Leafs had fired general manager (GM) Brad Treliving happened on late Monday night. MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley set up a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, and it may not of went as planned. He spoke for close to half an hour and, honestly, it seems that there are more questions now than before the press conference started. Overall, he didn’t really answer many questions in full. But he did manage to find a way to relate almost every question back to other MLSE owned sports teams and how they operate.
So with that, let’s look at what he did answer, or provide some clarity on. Here are the key takeaways from Pelley’s press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Culture & Alignment are the Issues
The biggest thing Pelley kept coming back to was culture. Not just in a general sense, but something he clearly feels is off inside the Maple Leafs right now. He talked about the team having the “foundational pieces” and all the resources you could ask for. But still believes they’re missing structure and alignment. That word came up more than once. The way he framed it, it’s not just one area either. It’s everything from management down to the players needing to be on the same page, and right now, they’re not.
You could also tell the way the season slipped away didn’t sit well with him, especially after the Olympic break. He brought up the idea of the “train coming,” pointing at teams like the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens that kept pushing, while the Maple Leafs didn’t adjust quickly enough. At the end of the day, the expectation hasn’t changed. This is supposed to be a team that contends every year. He made that pretty clear. The problem is, they didn’t come close to that this season. And now, the new GM, whoever it ends up being will need to navigate through a retool to get them back to that status.
The Next GM Must Be “Data-Centric”
If you’re trying to figure out what he wants in the next GM, he didn’t exactly hide it. Pelley said they need someone who is “data-centric,” and it sounded like that’s going to be a big part of the decision. Basically, every move needs to have something behind it. Not just feel or experience. There’s still room for that, sure, but it can’t be the main thing driving decisions anymore. After a question from Chris Johnston of the Athletic and TSN. He talked about Eric Tulsky of the Carolina Hurricanes and how his way of thinking is very “data-centric.”
Related: Maple Leafs Reportedly Ready to Move Players Out This Summer
Regardless of who they hire, it sounds like they’re going to do their best while expediting the process. The goal is to have someone in place by the NHL Draft Combine in late May, so there’s a bit of time to figure things out.
For anyone expecting a full rebuild, that doesn’t seem to be where this is headed. At least not right now. Pelley used the word “retool,” which, to be fair, gets thrown around a lot. But in this case it makes some sense. When you still have players like Auston Matthews and William Nylander, you’re not starting from zero, especially not if you opt to trade them and land valuable pieces in return.
That said, he didn’t lock anything in either. He made it pretty clear the new GM is going to have a big say in what this actually looks like. That includes Craig Berube, who didn’t exactly get a vote of confidence here. Pelley left that decision open. So while there is no clear directive, it does seem like a retool is the preferred option.
Pridman & Hardy Will Share Interim Duties
For now, things are going to be handled by Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy on an interim basis. They’ll take care of the day-to-day while the search plays out. Pelley spoke well about both of them, but didn’t go much further than that. Even when he was asked if they’d give a shot to someone without GM experience, he still didn’t show his cards.
Related: Treliving & Berube Aren’t the Right Duo for a Maple Leafs Retool
There’s no set structure in place yet. They could bring in a President of Hockey Operations, a GM, or both. That part is still up in the air, but it sounds like it will ultimately depend on who they end up hiring. If they went with Doug Armstrong, who is an experienced hockey mind as their President of Hockey Ops. They may elect to go with more of a newbie GM in say, Pridham because Armstrong could help him as much as possible. However, at this time, there is no clear direction.
