The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Monday night, ahead of their game against the Anaheim Ducks, that Brad Treliving is no longer the General Manager of the Hockey Club.
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 31, 2026
MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley announced the decision, stating that a new direction was needed for the team’s ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
“Throughout 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,” Pelley said in a press release.
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Brad Treliving Out as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs #leafsforever pic.twitter.com/hOPFRLoeQc
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 31, 2026
The Brad Treliving experiment in Toronto is over. The team made the playoffs twice, losing to the Boston Bruins in the first round in 2024. Then, in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Toronto lost to the Florida Panthers in Round 2. After that, Brendan Shanahan was let go, and Treliving was put in charge of the entire hockey operations.
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Treliving overhauled the roster to fit head coach Craig Berube‘s style of play, beginning with moving out forward Mitch Marner. We know Marner had already made up his mind to leave, and Treliving tried to get Mikko Rantanen to Toronto but failed. Instead, Treliving failed to get the necessary pieces to replace his production. Players like Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nic Roy didn’t cut it.
The Toronto Maple Leafs went from a team that won the Atlantic Division and had a second-round exit last year to a team hoping to finish in the top five in order not to lose their first-round draft pick to the Boston Bruins. Not to mention the Maple Leafs were sellers at the deadline, moving out Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Nic Roy as they tried to restock a cupboard that was bone dry.
So this move was coming, given how the team underperformed this season.
Was on air when the #LeafsForever news just dropped. Sounded over the weekend that a change was being considered at the GM post, but thought was they’d wait til end of season – Treliving has 1 more year left on his contract.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 31, 2026
The Toronto Maple Leafs will conduct a thorough General Manager search after letting go of Treliving with one season left on his contract.
The Leafs will conduct a formal GM search. Hugely important off-season for the Leafs, to say the least. Getting going on GM search asap deemed important rather than wait another two-plus weeks for regular season to end before making the GM change. Treliving had one more year on…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 31, 2026
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However, the fate of the head coach remains in the balance for next season and beyond.
Treliving won’t hide and will accept his share of the responsibility for a brutal year. Meanwhile, Craig Berube is about to coach the Maple Leafs tonight in Anaheim and sources say other than being made aware of Treliving’s fate, Berube has been given no indication of what his…
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 31, 2026
However, according to Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period on TSN Radio in Montreal, there is a sense that Craig Berube will not be back next season either. ‘
“Here in Toronto, where I’m at right now, there is a strong belief that they’ll be making a change, and Craig Berube won’t be back next season, and I believe he has two more years left on his contract. I think he signed a four-year deal. If the Maple Leafs do make this move, which is anticipated at the end of the season, they will have options for the next head coach.”
Besides the coach and the next General Manager, the future of Auston Matthews will also have to be determined this summer.
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