3 early candidates for Maple Leafs GM after Brad Treliving firing

The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager’s job is one of the most prestigious positions in hockey. Brad Treliving failed during his time with the organization, which led to his firing late this season. Toronto hopes to have a new candidate in place soon, who will have the first duty of deciding the futures of Craig Berube, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Morgan Reilly. No one said it was going to be an easy gig.

Some of the best executives and coaches in hockey have cracked under the pressure of the Toronto market. You’ve seen veterans like Brian Burke, who had success elsewhere before the job and then failed, and newcomers like Kyle Dubas, who eventually got run out of town before becoming the mastermind of this year’s surprising run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The President of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Keith Pelley, said in a press conference after the Treliving firing that the team is looking to move in a more data-centric direction. Ironically, that is the same direction they moved in with the Dubas hiring, and attempted to move away from with the Treliving hiring.

While no one’s really sure which direction the Maple Leafs are moving with these decisions, some data-centric candidates are emerging, notably from the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.

Sunny Mehta is the Panthers’ brains behind the operation

Not many hockey fans likely know who Sunny Mehta is. There is a reason for that, as he is the brains behind Bill Zito’s excellence in building a dynasty in Florida. He has a program that handles all of the Panthers’ advanced analytics, which Toronto would like to bring into its building. The argument is that in this day and age, the entire league has all these stats available to them, but Pelley’s goal is to get someone in the GM’s chair who will actually listen to what the stats are telling them.

Bringing Mehta into the spotlight in Toronto for the first time could be a disaster. If he isn’t ready for the media circus that is about to surround him, there could be some issues. However, if Mehta is the choice, the organization has been open to bringing in a more experienced President of Hockey Operations to oversee his tenure.

Doug Armstrong was the name many circled as the possible President, with his tenure ending with the St. Louis Blues. That seems like less of a possibility now, but it’s an Armstrong-equivalent option that would fit well with Mehta.

Mike Gillis is a veteran general manager option for Maple Leafs

Mike Gillis hasn’t been seen in the NHL since 2014, when the Vancouver Canucks relieved him of his duties with the organization. He served on a board of directors in the Swiss Hockey League, but other than that, he hasn’t been in the game. It might seem like a bit of a reach to bring him in after not earning a job in over 10 years, but he was one of the few data-centric GMs in the early 2010s.

Gillis had a ton of success with the Canucks, including their run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final that fell short. The Canucks were a great team with Gillis at the helm, and they haven’t really been the same since he left.

The Vancouver market isn’t as lethal as Toronto’s, but it has some similarities in its fans and media coverage. While Gillis hasn’t been in the fight like Mehta recently, he has the experience to handle the pressures that come with it better. Of course, Burke had a similar reputation and still suffered the same fate.

Gregory Campbell is another Florida front office option

Gregory Campbell is another name in the Panthers’ organization that is starting to make some waves. He is a former fourth-line NHL veteran who was one of the toughest players on the ice, thanks to fearless checking, shot blocking, and the occasional fight. Campbell may not be as involved with the computer side of the analytics game as Mehta, but he has seen how great the organization has run and can create a similar structure.

The Maple Leafs are in a tough spot with this general manager decision. If they go too analytically-focused, the jokes will come about how they had Dubas and let him go. If they go too hard-nosed as they did with Burke or Treliving, people will say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In a decision that will shape the organization’s future, there is no obvious answer.

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