Set to miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving on Monday night, ending his tenure late in his third season in charge of one of the NHL’s most popular and talked about teams.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president Keith Pelley announced the abrupt change before Toronto played at Anaheim.
鈥淭hroughout 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,鈥� Pelley said in a statement. 鈥淏rad 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.鈥�
It鈥檚 unclear what the move means for the future of coach Craig Berube, whom Treliving .
“He gave me an opportunity here, and I feel like we let him down this year, said Berube, who won the Cup in 2019 with St. Louis.
The Leafs have not won it since 1967 and are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention this season. This core 鈥� led by Auston Matthews 鈥� reached the playoffs nine consecutive years but won just two series in that time.
鈥淗e cares about everyone in that locker room and everything he did to try to give us the best possible chance to compete, put us in the best position to have success,鈥� center John Tavares said. 鈥淏rad brought us all in here, (had) tremendous belief in us and we just didn鈥檛 deliver. It falls on us.鈥�
Cutting ties with Treliving came just before a rematch against the Ducks, a little over two weeks since one of the touchpoints of Toronto’s woeful few months. March 12 on a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas and none of his teammates responded to a play that .
Max Domi fought Gudas off the opening faceoff Monday night, and he and his teammates racked up 59 penalty minutes in the first two periods 鈥� more than any game during Treliving’s time as GM. They after finding out not long before puck drop about news players called shocking.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 had much time to sit with it, so we鈥檙e still processing it,鈥� defenseman Morgan Rielly, the team’s longest-tenured player, said. 鈥淗ow I feel is in times like these where changes are made, it鈥檚 ultimately on the players. It鈥檚 a business based on results.鈥�
in May 2023 after then-president of hockey operations Brendan Shanahan fired GM Kyle Dubas. 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 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 rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.
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 March 2025 deal for defenseman Brandon Carlo that included sending Fraser Minten and a first-round pick to Boston.
His final acts were selling moves , trading Scott Laughton to Los Angeles and Bobby McMann to Seattle.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 done a lot for this team,鈥� forward Matthew Knies said. 鈥淚 think he has helped. But yeah, I think that鈥檚 just kind of the way the business goes right now, and when we鈥檙e not performing it starts from the top.鈥�
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AP freelance writer Mike DiGiovanna in Anaheim, California, contributed to this report.
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