Tree Gone, Pelley Searches For Successor

MLSE boss Keith Pelley met with the media on Tuesday following the dismissal of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving on Monday evening. Treliving’s firing was not a surprise based on the dramatic fall of the club this season, and the moves made by the former Leafs GM over the almost three seasons at the helm, but the timing was expected to occur at the end of the season in mid-April and not just prior to their game against the Anaheim Ducks. 

“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.” Pelley said. “The team is blessed with the best resources in hockey. I can emphatically tell you, with the greatest of confidence, that there are many teams competing next month in the Stanley Cup playoffs whose expenditures on hockey operations….pale in comparison to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

We have all the resources to be successful, but without the right structure, without the right processes in place, without the right culture, and without the alignment and accountability among everybody inside the operation, we will not be successful. That change starts today.”

Here are Pelley’s responses to some of the key questions:

Why was Treliving allowed to handle the trades at the deadline?

We made that decision (to fire Brad) just over the last couple of weeks through dialogue with ownership. Once you make the decision, if you get ahead of it now, you get an extra 15 days. It’s such a crucial and important search……During the trade deadline, he was still our GM at that particular time. We hadn’t started the full conversations about where we were going next.

You said that you thought you had the right management structure in place last season after you did not bring Brendan Shanahan back. What went wrong?

I thought we had the right leadership in place. There are a number of factors that played into it this season. Without getting into the details, I honestly believe that we didn’t have the alignment, the culture, or the structure we needed to be successful.

You can point to a number of issues this year. I am not going to talk about the injuries. The only thing I’ll say is that we need to be better. We need to be able to adapt more quickly. We definitely didn’t see the train coming that was the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens, and how strong those two teams are, along with the likes of Detroit and Ottawa. Boston, with a strong spine, has been able to retool, and Florida and Tampa are always strong.

Are you open to hiring a Team President to oversee a general manager?

There is not a definitive one way to run the operation. We have the resources, so we will determine what is the best structure to run it. You probably know there are 12 teams that run it with a President and a GM who is separate. There are eight teams that run it with the President and GM as one person. There are 12 teams that only have a GM. 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……I am open to any structure. However, I can tell you that you need strong hockey operations people with strong hockey backgrounds who will make key, critical decisions about the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

What is the future of Craig Berube?

Craig Berube is the head coach, and that is determined by the General Manager, the President, or the head of hockey operations. That is not decided by me. His role at the hockey club doesn’t change today, other than the fact that he will work closer with (Assistant GM’s) Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy. Once we have a new head of hockey in place, if that recommendation is around Craig Berube at that particular time, we will listen. Something as big as Craig Berube would go all the way to ownership.