Maple Leafs Hire PBI Sports & Entertainment To Support GM Search
The Toronto Maple Leafs face a pivotal decision as the off-season approaches. They are in the midst of searching for their first general manager hire since 2023. To help make sure their decision works out, the Maple Leafs have hired Neil Glasberg’s PBI Sports & Entertainment to support their search per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. The firm represents many coaches and executives in the NHL – including Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman, New Jersey Devils senior advisor Chuck Fletcher, and Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta as pointed out by Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
Toronto will move forward targeting mid-May as when they’d like to have a decision made per Johnston. Some have expressed concerns about Glaser’s involvement in the search as he represents potential candidates for the role – but PBI Sports & Entertainment’s involvement does not violate any league rules and the firm has previously been used by the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Seattle Kraken.
Still, Mehta could be a top candidate for the Leafs’ key role. MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley stated that the next Leafs GM will need to be data-centric, with an understanding of the importance of analytics in building a roster. Mehta served as an analytical consultant in the NHL and MLB prior to his role with the Panthers. He even spearheaded the first full-time analytics department in NHL history with the 2014-15 New Jersey Devils. Mehta was hired as the Panthers’ Vice President of Hockey Strategy and Intelligence in 2020 and promoted to the assistant GM chair, in addition to his role as Director of Analytics, in 2023. Florida won back-to-back Stanley Cups on the heels of that promotion. In addition to his track record in hockey and baseball, Mehta was also once a professional poker player and co-authored a top-selling gambling book.
Mehta will be one of many names considered for the Leafs GM chair. Other names who could be involved includes former NHL GMs John Chayka, Peter Chiarelli, and Kevyn Adams per Johnston.
Maple Leafs Recall Luke Haymes
The Maple Leafs announced that they’ve recalled forward Luke Haymes from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. The 22-year-old could be an option to make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Capitals.
Toronto signed Haymes as an undrafted free agent out of Dartmouth College this time last year. At the time, the Ottawa native was coming off a standout run over his sophomore and junior seasons that saw him accumulate 30 goals and 54 points in 53 games for the Big Green, taking home ECAC First Team All-Star honors in 2023-24.
Haymes joined the AHL club on an amateur tryout to end last season before his entry-level contract kicked in this year. He immediately made an impact with two goals and six points in nine games. That production has carried over in 2025-26, where he’s had a strong enough rookie campaign with a 17-15–32 line in 63 games with a -6 rating.
Haymes sits sixth on the club in scoring and remains under contract through next year at a cap hit of $875K. He’ll be waiver-exempt until 2028-29 unless he plays 70 NHL contests before then. An opening-night job in the fall is unlikely, but he’s tracking toward being a depth contributor with some real mid-season call-up potential. He’ll get an initial look now with five games left in the Leafs’ season, their first without playoff hockey since 2016.
The 6’1″, 203-lb Haymes can play both center and left wing and checks in as the #10 prospect in the Maple Leafs’ system according to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. Wheeler touts him as a “solid, trustworthy player” who “makes good decisions around the ice, knows how to support play on both sides of the puck, has a pro build and average pro tools, and fits the play-the-right-way focus of the current Leafs brass and coaching staff.”
Blues’ Doug Armstrong Won’t Be Available For Maple Leafs GM Search
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a full-scale search for their next general manager after dismissing Brad Treliving last week. Their list of candidates is growing quickly, but isn’t expected to include current St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. The Blues have no plans to allow Armstrong to interview for Toronto’s GM vacancy, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. Armstrong is set to become St. Louis’ President of Hockey Operations while Alexander Steen steps into the GM role on July 1st. Pagnotta’s report was echoed by Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast.
It seems St. Louis has no interest in letting Armstrong walk after 16 years in the Blues’ GM chair. That tenure has spanned some transformative years in Blues franchise history. Armstrong took over a squad with only one playoff appearance in their last five seasons. With quick and crafty moves, such as bringing in a new goalie tandem in Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott, Armstrong pushed St. Louis to the Central Division championship in just his second season. That postseason appearance kicked off six consecutive playoff berths for the Blues. They were briefly interrupted with a miss in 2018 but returned in full force with a Cinderella-story Stanley Cup win in 2019.
Along the way, Armstrong made clear his willingness to put the team’s overall performance above any one player. He parted ways with all four captains under his reign, including moving on from Alex Pietrangelo just one season after he became the first Blue to lift the Stanley Cup. The results of those changes have ebbed and flowed, with St. Louis now boasting a strong prospect pool and only one playoff berth in the last three seasons.
In the midst of a rebuild, St. Louis will also turn over their top management position. Steen joined the Blues’ management staff as a team consultant and development coach in 2023. He was promoted to a ‘Special Assistant to the GM’ role in 2024 and is now preparing to take one more step this summer. His path has been largely untraditional, but also well supported by his leadership role during 13 seasons as a Blues player and his close connection with Armstrong. Those factors have helped St. Louis hone Steen into a manager capable of filling their top chair, while Armstrong will still have a say in hockey ops decisions. The tandem between Armstrong and Steen has grown strong, and St. Louis will ensure it sticks even as their roles shift.
Not even a GM opening in Armstrong’s home province will be enough to knock the Blues’ plan off-course. Armstrong has held a management position in the Midwest since 1992 and has taken steps to reduce his workload since managing Team Canada to a Silver Medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Unless St. Louis changes its mind about supporting an upcoming rookie GM, Armstrong will continue with the city where he won his latest Stanley Cup. That will give him a chance to see out many top Blues prospects, including defenseman Adam Jiricek and whoever the club reels in with a top pick in 2026.
Maple Leafs’ Tyler Hopkins, Harry Nansi Sign AHL Tryouts
Maple Leafs forward prospects Tyler Hopkins and Harry Nansi signed amateur tryouts with AHL Toronto on Monday, the team announced. They can’t be directly “assigned” to the AHL after completing their junior seasons, as the Leafs haven’t yet signed them to their entry-level contracts, but this will still allow each of them to make their pro debuts this season after their Ontario Hockey League playoff runs both concluded in sweeps last week.
Hopkins, 19, was Toronto’s third-round pick in 2025 out of Kingston. He was dealt to Guelph midway through this season, with whom he tallied a 13-12–25 scoring line in 27 games down the stretch. He was their only player to score multiple goals in what ended up being an aggressive dispatching by Windsor, which outscored Guelph 21-5 in the four-game series.
The Leafs can wait until June 1, 2027, to sign Hopkins before losing his rights. No matter if they ink him now or this offseason, he’ll be heading back to Guelph in the fall. A 6’1″ pivot with good two-way instincts, he tallied 50 points in 56 games this year across his stints in Kingston and Guelph and grades out as the #11-ranked prospect in one of the weakest pools in the league, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic wrote last month. Some added muscle could allow him to develop into a potential fourth-line piece with good defensive numbers.
Nansi is arguably the more intriguing talent. He went two rounds after Hopkins last year, but the Quebec native was one of the youngest players in the class with a Sep. 10 birthday and took a giant leap forward this season. After the 6’3″ right winger was limited to seven goals and 23 points in 67 games as a second-year junior player in Owen Sound last season, he finished third on the Attack in scoring this year with a 13-43–56 line in 67 games. He ultimately went pointless in four postseason outings as Owen Sound was also stomped out of the playoffs by Flint, losing their four-game series by an aggregate score of 35-3.
Still, that offensive breakout means he’s climbed into being a top-10 prospect for the Leafs, with Wheeler tabbing him at #6. The question is whether he can develop enough physically – he currently checks in at only 179 lbs – while continuing to improve his skating in hopes of being able to hit as a lower-end top-nine piece someday.
Brad Treliving Was Never A Good Fit With The Maple Leafs
Last week, news broke that the Maple Leafs had relieved general manager Brad Treliving of his duties, ending an underwhelming tenure with the team that never made sense from the day he was hired in late May 2023. Treliving had previously been with the Flames for nine seasons before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways just weeks before the Maple Leafs hired him.
At the time of his departure from Calgary, PHR’s Josh Erickson noted that Treliving was well respected in NHL front offices, and it was likely he would find a new role quickly, which proved to be a spot-on prediction. However, that likely won’t be the case this time, at least not for an NHL general manager role, as Treliving may need to step away from the game or rebuild his reputation before another team offers him a prominent position.
Treliving’s career in NHL management is similar to that of former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall, who was let go by the team around the time Treliving left Calgary. Hextall has not held an NHL role since then, and it’s possible Treliving might also need to take some time away from the game or be forced to do so if he can’t find work as an NHL executive.
Some folks might find it unfair to compare Treliving to Hextall, but their two recent runs as GMs show many similarities, as does their history in previous organizations. And as unflattering as it may be, both Hextall and Treliving inherited teams capable of winning the Stanley Cup, with star players at the top, and both oversaw the dismantling of their contention windows.
Folks in Philadelphia would argue that Hextall did the same thing when he was with the Flyers, just as fans of the Flames might feel the same about Treliving’s tenure there. Hextall and Treliving both operated without much semblance of a plan, so many of their moves appeared to be reactions to a changing market, attempts to undo a previous mistake, or attempts to pick up what they could when they realized they had a glaring hole in their roster.
But were Treliving’s moves in Toronto really that bad? The short answer is yes, and the long answer is much more complicated.
It wasn’t all bad for Treliving in Toronto, as the team did win a division title and pushed the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to seven games in the second round last year. However, mistakes made early in Treliving’s tenure eventually compounded, leading to a year where almost nothing went right for him and the Maple Leafs.
In his first summer on the job in 2023, Treliving signed David Kämpf to a regrettable four-year contract worth $9.6MM before free agency. He then entered free agency and made a couple of solid short-term signings in Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi.
However, those deals were surrounded by a series of poor bets as Treliving signed Ryan Reaves to a multi-year deal, and agreed to one-year contracts with John Klingberg, Ilya Samsonov, and Martin Jones. Except for the Reaves deal, none of the other moves were particularly bad on their own, but they left the Maple Leafs in a similar spot come playoff time, as they bowed out in the first round to the Bruins. During that season, Treliving also extended Auston Matthews and William Nylander, essentially doubling down on a core four template that had yet to produce a deep playoff run.
Most of Treliving’s early mistakes during his tenure involved trades, where he often traded away depth players for very little and then spent a lot to acquire slightly better players. A clear example is a series of transactions late in the 2024-25 season, when he traded Connor Dewar and Conor Timmins to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fifth-round pick, and then acquired Scott Laughton, along with a fourth- and sixth-round draft pick, for a conditional 2027 first-rounder and prospect Nikita Grebenkin.
Now, Timmins might not be an NHL defenseman at this point, but it’s hard to argue that Laughton is much of an upgrade on Dewar, especially after the season both players have had. In fact, it’s fair to say that Dewar would be an upgrade on Laughton at this stage of their careers, and he is five years younger than the 31-year-old Laughton. Essentially, those two trades marked a significant loss of talent for Toronto in just a few hours. It made their existing NHL roster worse and removed a key draft asset from their future. These two trades highlight a major issue for Treliving: he lost nearly every trade he made in Toronto, and this was nothing new.
The list of poor trades could fill an entire article on its own, with the most glaring example being the Brandon Carlo trade, which could haunt the Maple Leafs for years depending on how the first-round pick turns out.
But again, many of the moves weren’t necessarily bad; quite a few were unnecessary and revealed that Treliving didn’t have a clear sense of where his team was or what they needed to improve. A good example is the March 2024 trade when Treliving acquired Joel Edmundson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
This move wasn’t terrible, but Edmundson was only a depth player at that point, and Treliving traded for him when the team desperately needed a top-four defenseman. It felt like a half measure, more like the Maple Leafs’ GM doing something just to say he did it. Critics will note that giving up two mid-round picks isn’t a big deal, but making three such trades a season quickly depletes your draft pool — which is exactly what has happened to Toronto. The prospect pipeline is now empty, and if the Maple Leafs are to have any hope for the future, the next GM will have to make the most of the few draft picks they do have.
Overall, Treliving’s tenure will be remembered as a period when he and the team never quite aligned, leading to a lot of movement but little results. The reality is that Maple Leafs fans and media may claim that Treliving didn’t do enough to push Toronto over the hump and to the next level in the playoffs, but the truth is that Treliving didn’t do enough right, and in fact, he barely got anything right for the Maple Leafs. That’s why they need to conduct another hockey management search at a time when their competitive window is closing quickly.
Maple Leafs Linked To Sunny Mehta For GM Vacancy
The Maple Leafs have Panthers assistant general manager Sunny Mehta on their initial list of desired candidates to succeed Brad Treliving in the GM’s chair, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on last night’s “Saturday Headlines.”
Mehta, 47, has long been a prominent face in advanced analytics. The Michigan native has had quite the long and winding road through his professional life – from earning a master’s degree in data science to becoming a professional poker player and bestselling author – before he got into online analytics blogging in the early 2010s. After quickly gaining acclaim in that sphere, he did some consulting work for the Coyotes before being hired as the Devils’ director of analytics in 2014, heading up the league’s first dedicated analytics department.
He remained in that role with New Jersey through 2018. He then did some freelance work with the Capitals and several Major League Baseball teams before getting brought into the Panthers’ front office by then fresh-faced GM Bill Zito in 2021. Mehta served as the team’s director of hockey strategy and intelligence for two years before Zito promoted him to his inner circle as an AGM, a role he’s stayed in since the Cats’ first of three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2023 while also serving as their director of analytics.
Keith Pelley, the president of the Leafs’ parent company, made clear in his media availability at the beginning of last week that his GM hire would be “data-centric.” There’s perhaps no individual more fitting of that description than Mehta. He’s played a key role in Florida’s successful acquisition of under-utilized depth pieces like Evan Rodrigues and Niko Mikkola over the past few years.
Maple Leafs Recall William Villeneuve On Emergency Basis
The Maple Leafs are expected to be without Oliver Ekman-Larsson tonight for his first injury-related absence of the year. Additionally, David Alter of The Hockey News notes (Twitter link) that there are some other players banged up as well. As a result, the team has decided to bring up an extra blueliner, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled William Villeneuve on an emergency basis from AHL Toronto.
It’s the second recall of the season (and of his career) for the 24-year-old although his first stint came during the Olympic break so he’s still waiting to make his NHL debut. Villeneuve was a fourth-round pick by Toronto back in 2022, going 122nd overall. He has been fairly productive in the minors over the years but that has yet to materialize into an opportunity at the top level yet.
Villeneuve had 40 points for the Marlies last season but that didn’t seem to help his cause much in contract negotiations as a restricted free agent for the first time. In exchange for accepting the minimum salary at the NHL level, he received an additional $20K guarantee on his deal, bringing his total salary for this season to $100K overall. Villeneuve hasn’t been quite as productive this season as he has three goals and 25 assists in 58 games but that’s enough to sit third on the team in assists and first in points among blueliners.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Doubtful For Saturday's Game
- Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson could miss a game because of an injury designation for the first time all season. Toronto was eliminated from playoff contention with last night’s loss to the Sharks, and they also lost Ekman-Larsson midway through the game with a lower-body injury. He hasn’t been ruled out entirely for tomorrow’s game against the Kings but is highly doubtful to play, Luke Fox of Sportsnet relays. The 34-year-old has been good for eight goals and 38 points through 73 games, leading Toronto defenders in scoring while producing his best point-per-game total since 2020-21, his final season with the Coyotes.
William Nylander Wants To Stay With Maple Leafs Through Retool
The Maple Leafs’ next general manager will likely be the most important move Keith Pelley makes as president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He admitted as much in his media availability Tuesday after announcing the firing of Brad Treliving the night before (via Kristen Shilton of ESPN).
Teetering on the edge between a more conservative, short-term retool and a blow-it-all-up rebuild, that decision will determine whether the foundational pieces still remaining from their post-lockout decade of darkness have a chance to end their careers in Toronto. If it’s the latter option with the goal of returning to consistent playoff contention within a year or two, star winger William Nylander told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic on Wednesday that “I still want to be here” if the Leafs’ head executive doesn’t opt for a full teardown.
Of course, any full rebuild would involve at least entertaining the idea of moving Nylander, the Leafs’ all-around offensive centerpiece who turns 30 next month. He holds all the cards with a no-movement clause for all six years remaining on his $11.5MM AAV contract, but if it comes to that, his desire to stay would be “a different story,” he told Siegel. He stopped short of admitting it was a foregone conclusion that he would be open to a move if Toronto opted to sell off the rest of their valuable pieces, but it’s clear it would be something he would consider.
The retool-or-rebuild decision comes down to whether the Leafs’ incoming GM believes there’s enough they can do to return to a playoff spot within the next two years. Auston Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent in 2028. They’re not in a long-term position where they can even think about risking losing him for nothing.
If they can do enough surgery on the rest of the roster, which is headed for a bottom-three finish in the East this year for the first time in a decade, to give them a bright enough long-term outlook to convince Matthews to stay, then it makes sense to keep rolling as long as they can given their bevy of other long-term commitments on the books. If not, the best time to sell off names like Matthews, Nylander, and Matthew Knies is this summer, when their cost-control levels are highest, and they have the most years of effective play remaining.
Nylander has clinched his fourth consecutive season above a point per game and leads the Leafs with 71 points despite missing over 15 games this season with various injuries. The second of two Mikko Rantanen trades last season, which netted the Hurricanes a pair of first-round picks, a pair of thirds, and a long-term top-nine fixture in Logan Stankoven, would be a direct comparable if they did opt to rebuild and look to move him.
Of course, the three-time 40-goal scorer’s remarkable consistency in production as of late makes him, as Pelley said Tuesday, an incredibly strong foundational piece to continue building around. That remains ownership’s preference, but he signaled they would be open to a more aggressive rebuilding approach if that’s what his hire of choice believes is the best path forward.
Latest On Craig Berube
Buffalo Sabres spring acquisition Sam Carrick appeared to suffer a serious arm injury after fighting Anders Lee of the Islanders tonight, seen in a clip shared by Bleacher Report Open Ice.
Carrick dropped the mitts with Lee in retaliation after the Islanders captain delivered a hard hit on Buffalo’s Josh Norris. As he went down at the end of the scrap, he was immediately in serious pain. The center did not return, and with just seven regular season games on the schedule for the team after tonight, there’s a real possibility Buffalo has lost a key veteran for the playoffs.
Acquired on March 6 from the Rangers in exchange for a third and sixth rounder, Carrick has been a great fit with the Sabres. He has five goals in 12 games, of course not sustainable with a shooting percentage just under 28%. Even when that inevitably cools off, he’s winning 58.2% of his face-offs and killing penalties as a solid fourth line center right as advertised.
Also evident considering his willingness to take on a larger player in Lee for the sake of a teammate, Carrick plays a role any team needs in the playoffs. Especially a younger group, who will end a 15-year-long drought and enter uncharted territory.
The hope is that Carrick has somehow not suffered a season-ender, but if so, Joshua Dunne might have to step back in at a crucial time. Buffalo is back at it Thursday as they aim to put the keep their foot on the gas rolling into a potential run.
Elsewhere across the league:
- Senators defenseman Carter Yakemchuk suffered a concerning injury tonight as observed by Julian McKenzie of The Athletic. He sustained a hard hit from Florida’s Noah Gregor which was concentrated in the head area, and had trouble getting back up, eventually requiring help to get off the ice. Gregor was assessed a game misconduct. It was a tough night for the Sens as they lost convincingly to the bottom-feeding Panthers while in desperate need of points. Ottawa’s top prospect, Yakemchuk made his NHL debut one week ago today, getting a look especially as Jake Sanderson remains out. The 20-year-old burst onto the scene with a goal and an assist in his first game. As a righty, he fits perfectly into a well-assembled core from the other side for years to come. Ottawa hopes their youngster will be back by Thursday against Buffalo.
- Insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said on yesterday’s edition of The Leafs Nation that head coach Craig Berube was likely not anticipating yesterday’s firing of general manager Brad Treliving. Pagnotta suspects that he hasn’t been told anything as to his future with the club. The 60-year-old has a contract which runs through 2027-28, but his Leafs tenure could be winding down, about to finish only his second season with the team, where he’s had an 84 – 56 – 17 record. Toronto’s constant turnover behind the bench needs to change, but it only makes sense for the team to start fresh this summer. Any new GM typically prefers bringing in their own selection, especially with some strong candidates available, headlined by Bruce Cassidy. Berube, known for leading the Blues to a remarkable run to a Stanley Cup in 2019, could also benefit from a new challenge with the Leafs sputtering despite his efforts.