Jordan Schmaltz believes Maple Leafs should make a pitch for Blues general manager Doug Armstrong

The Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing to hit the road for a four-game road trip that will take them into April as the end of the 2025-26 regular season approaches.

On Friday morning, former National Hockey League first-round draft pick and Toronto Marlies defenceman Jordan Schmaltz joined Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill to discuss what went wrong during the Maple Leafs’ disappointing season, potential replacements for current general manager Brad Treliving, and what might happen when the Maple Leafs and Anaheim Ducks square off again.

As the Maple Leafs currently sit with a record of 31-29-13 through 73 games and stare down an offseason that will require change if they want to return to the playoffs, Schmaltz touched on who might take the blame and what some of the problems are.

“It’s all over the place, but where does MLSE go from here? Is it Treliving? Is it Craig Berube? Is there a clean sweep of both the coaching staff and management? Is that what needs to happen? Is Matthews going to be there?,” Schmaltz said. “There’s just so many storylines and question marks. They went from maybe being a little bit too skilled and soft to instead maybe being a little bit heavy and clunky this year. It’s almost like they went to the total other end of the spectrum and tried to overdo it with their pieces, and it has led to this nightmare of a season.”

One of the names that has been floated around in the Toronto market for potential replacements for Treliving has been current St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong. Armstrong is set to transition into the role of President of Hockey Operations with the club following this season, with former Maple Leafs and Blues forward Alexander Steen set to replace him as general manager following this season. Armstrong was the general manager who selected Schmaltz in 2012, and Schmaltz touched on what he could bring to Toronto and what it might take to get him here.

“I think his pedigree speaks for itself. He’s an old-school guy, and he takes no bullshit. He’s definitely a guy that can turn around any organization,” Schmaltz said. “I think he’s very loyal to St. Louis and his successor, Alex Steen, so I think it would be an offer that’s too much to turn down. I think if you’re making a general manager change in Toronto, it needs to be a heavy hitter that’s not scared to make a move.”

On the Maple Leafs’ upcoming four-game trip, the club will square off with the Ducks on Monday, March 30, the first meeting between the two teams since Radko Gudas’ knee-on-knee hit against Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. While many fans have circled this game as a redemption for what took place in Toronto on March 12, Schmaltz isn’t sure that the response will satisfy the fans’ wishes.

“Does Max Domi have to fight him? Is it Dakota Joshua going up to Gudas and tapping him, saying you have to answer the bell, or is it simply one of the Maple Leafs players going after one of the Ducks’ star players? It’s a different situation, especially when you don’t react in real time,” Schmaltz said. “It’s just been a vanilla season for them, and I don’t really know what happens, but I’m very interested to ultimately see what happens in that game.”

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