On 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman discussed the latest on the Leafs’ GM search, interest from MLSE/ownership in Mats Sundin joining the new front office, Auston Matthews’ future, and more on the Leafs big offseason decisions ahead.
On the GM search
Sunny Mehta was obviously a contender. Several people told me they heard his name internally.
Now, we’ll see how they adjust their group.
Some of the other names I’ve heard:
Mike Gillis, obviously. That’s everywhere. I think this week is Zoom. But he has met with them in person before.
John Chayka.
Chris Pronger.
The two current acting GMs, Ryan Hardy and Brandon Pridham, got interviewed.
I think Ryan Bowness from the Islanders has been interviewed.
I am not yet sure about Gregory Campbell.
I’ll mention it again: Ryan Martin interviewed in Nashville. I’ve wondered if he is on the Toronto list, but I don’t know for sure.
I know there has been a lot of talk about Ross Mahoney this week. But I am not sure that has actually happened.
This week was a lot of Zoom. Some of it might have been in person, but I heard it was a lot of Zoom. They spoke to about nine or 10 people.
The question we’re all kind of wondering: How do things adjust because Mehta is off the board?
I think they could go two ways here. They could continue the way they’re going, cut it down, maybe go to two or three finalists, and bring them in. Or they could just say, “Look, we have one person off the board. There is someone else we really like here. Let’s do it.” I think Toronto has choices they could go with.
On Mats Sundin’s potential role within Leafs management
There is another name here, although it is not for General Manager. I’ve heard the Maple Leafs are meeting with one of the greatest players in franchise history, Mats Sundin, about bringing him back in what sounds like some kind of advisory role.
I don’t want to get caught up in titles here. I don’t know if he would be an advisor or a VP of hockey ops. I don’t know. But he is meeting with them, and I believe he is going to be meeting with ownership.
I think it is a great idea. He was a great Leaf. He really cares about the organization. You don’t need me to tell you that. I think they want to bring him back in and have him be a part of the new management group.
As I said, I don’t think he is going to be GM, but I do think he is going to be a Vice President or a Special Advisor, or something like that. They brought him to North America to meet with him, and that is ongoing.
I don’t know if they’ve talked to any of the candidates about it. I don’t know who knows about it and who doesn’t. But I do believe it is their plan. They want Sundin to be part of the new management group.
I think he really cares about the team, and the fact that he wants to be a part of it is a really good sign.
On the AI report in The Athletic
When you have a season like they just had, those are the kinds of stories that get written about you. This doesn’t happen when you have a good year.
The other thing, too: Remember when Dubas left, and all of his loyalists spilled the tea? Now, this is happening.
Whenever Toronto makes management changes, it is a goldmine for reporters. People sing like mob informants.
That is what you go through when you go through seasons like this. It is the same as the Canucks, with the agent survey in The Athletic. People don’t say those things about you when you’re winning.
On Matthews’ end-of-season comments about his future in T.O.
He said exactly what I thought (he would).
Auston Matthews has signed contracts to play 12 years in Toronto. He has played 10. We’ll see if he gets to 12, but he has signed contracts to play 12.
From the moment he got here, it was like, “He’ll never sign an extension. He’ll leave.” And then again, it was, “He’ll never sign an extension. He’ll leave.”
We found out that he guaranteed, even the year before he could sign one, that he is staying, as long as it doesn’t go off the rails.
You cannot question his loyalty.
I think he now wants to hear the plan. I didn’t expect anything different. He wants to hear the plan. He wants to hear what the new person has to say. And then he’ll make his decision.
He wants to win in Toronto, but if it is any kind of a longer process, that changes. The calculus changes.
He will wait, and he will have an open mind.
I wonder if they’re asking this of the new (GM) candidates: Do you think it is the right time to trade him, or do you wait a year?
Let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that you are going to trade him. Do you say, “Do it now, with two years left,” or do you wait until next summer? You could then maybe trade him somewhere with an extension.
It’s a debate for everyone to have, and Matthews will have a huge say because he has control.
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On the Leafs’ exit interviews, Berube’s future
All of the focus was on Matthews, as the captain and next player, but I do think they asked a number of players if they’re happy here.
This was a hard season. It sucked for a lot of people. We heard Rielly talk about it. Nylander mumbled away for a minute and a half. I do think they asked a bunch of guys how they feel about the overall thing.
Nylander has already met with them and said that if it is a long rebuild, he is not that interested. We’ll see what other players have to say.
Knies is a big one. Teams know that the Maple Leafs kick the tires on Knies and put him out there right at the deadline. I think some teams will circle back.
And then there was Craig Berube. He was asked, “Do you think you’ll be back?” The answer was yes.
I don’t know why anyone would expect Berube, who has never run away from anything in his life, to say anything different. I think he is there until they tell him otherwise.
We’ll see. A lot will happen here. The change in personnel is only just beginning.
On Darren Raddysh as a potential FA target
I had someone tell me that one of the Leafs’ plans was to take a run at Darren Raddysh from the Lightning if he hits free agency. 1) We don’t know if he will hit free agency, and 2) How will the new GM feel about that? Do they feel that’s still something they want to do?
On Shane Doan’s future
I think there will be some interest in Shane Doan from other teams. He might want to go back to Arizona and ride horses at the ranch. Actually, I don’t think he has the ranch anymore. But is he going to go back, relax, and work on bringing hockey back to Arizona? Or does he join another organization? I think some organizations will be interested in him.
Thoughts/Takeaways
A lot of ground was covered by Friedge today, so here are some thoughts/takeaways:
– I don’t know what more Auston Matthews could’ve said about his future to reassure Leafs fans of his loyalty, at least among the range of answers that would’ve been at all realistic/honest, or that wouldn’t have potentially opened him up to accusations of blatant hypocrisy within a few months’ time, depending on what new management presents to him as their plan moving forward. He shouldn’t lie, and “I love Toronto so much that I’m going to stay here regardless of whether we’re tearing it all down and rebuilding for several years, making it unlikely I’ll ever win a Cup in this league anytime soon, if at all,” is not something anyone would ever say or should be expected to say in Matthews’ position. No competitive professional athlete would ever think that way, let alone one of Matthews’ stature.
Matthews said he thought the team could win and get back on track next season. The rest is up to management to decide if this fits their vision for the team over the next few years. Matthews’ answer when Steve Simmons tried the “this team has been through so many GMs and coaches in your time” angle was actually excellent, as he articulately pointed out that the level of turnover he’s experienced is not at all abnormal across the league. We don’t shy away from criticizing Matthews in this space when it’s appropriate, but it was a strong presser from the captain. He even navigated an extremely odd AI-related question from Rosie DiManno quite well.
– Mats Sundin has been an off-and-on consultant with Team Sweden internationally, but his management chops and resume aren’t clearly defined yet. Even just symbolically, though, Sundin represents an era in franchise history when Leafs fans had genuine pride in their team, and he was the face of those teams, a strong leader who adeptly navigated both the challenges and the upsides of this market. Unfortunately, the Leafs can’t turn back time and put Sundin in their lineup, but his history as a player counts for something.
We’ve now heard years of chatter about all the negatives of playing in Toronto; Sundin went through his own adversity here, particularly surrounding the end of his Leaf tenure, but he sees this market for what it is: a really special place to play. It’s a city where a team identity rooted in heart, grit, and talent is cherished and celebrated like no other place in the hockey world, as he witnessed firsthand in his own Conference Final runs with the Leafs. He could be part of the solution within the organization in terms of culture-setting. Recent Leafs teams have certainly struggled in the “likeability” department, but Sundin is universally beloved in Toronto. He might be able to help shift the vibe and assist in restoring the sense of pride/honour in being a Maple Leaf, on top of adding the perspective of a life in hockey, with connections to the European game as well.
My thoughts also gravitate toward the Mike Gillis connection, as Gillis brought Sundin to Vancouver, thinks very highly of him, and is currently (seemingly) a few interviews deep in the hiring process with the team. There is also his relationship with Tie Domi and Max Domi, who are extremely close. Would it cloud his judgment on a possible necessary move there regarding Domi’s contract? Worth noting, Sundin wouldn’t be in the GM chair but just one voice in the room, likely in an advisory-type role.
– The list of remaining GM candidates doesn’t strike one as super inspiring at first blush. It could be that the next great GM is among the lesser-known names there (Rangers AGM Ryan Martin is the latest confirmed interviewee). But Mike Gillis’ name clearly stands above the rest in experience and stature.
Gillis’ time in Vancouver is quite a while ago now, to be fair, albeit he has worked hard to stay current in the game in the years since. The appeal to his work with the Canucks, as it relates to the Leafs, is that were core pieces already in place from previous regimes (Burke & Nonis), but he then added a few significant top-four defensemen (via trade/FA), rounded out the team’s bottom six with effective role players, and got the most out of the core pieces on his roster, including finding complementary fits and freeing up the Sedins to soar to new heights offensively under a deployment strategy that maximized their potential. They didn’t get the job done in Game 7 of the SCF, but he did elevate a team that was a perennial playoff participant but struggled to win rounds, then missed the playoffs right before Gillis took over. He did much of it through trade, FA, and better optimizing the existing core talent on the roster.
I’d hope that Gillis wouldn’t look at his decision to keep Alain Vigneault from the previous regime in Vancouver as instructive on what to do with the under-contract, still-not-fired Craig Berube. Vigneault showed a genuine willingness to evolve and to adopt Gillis’ new ideas at the time, and while Berube is a likeable team player who might express openness, he certainly struggled to actually change his ways or successfully implement any changes. Moving on from Berube should be table stakes for any new hire at this point, and Gillis should (hopefully) be wise enough to know that those two situations are not the same.
Gillis’ no-nonsense, at-times prickly personality also has its appeal for an organization that’s not exactly run a tight ship in the last year. Remember, Gillis filed two separate tampering charges against the Leafs back in the day during the Burke and Wilson era. He does not mess around and wouldn’t be in the job to make friends. He immediately made the decision, as Canucks GM in 2008, to walk away from a former client and Canucks legend, Markus Naslund, who signed with the Rangers. The Leafs, in general, have become risk-averse, avoidant of hard decisions, and lacking in bold thinking.
It’d be refreshing if Gillis were even up for making a few people uncomfortable at the league offices if it might help the Leafs receive more equitable treatment from the DoPS one of these days, but that’s a bit of an aside and a total projection on my part.
