The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to reshape their management group, announcing Jeremiah Crowe as their new Director of Player Personnel.
Crowe spent the last nine seasons working his way through the Buffalo Sabres organization, where he started as a pro scout before a promotion to Director of Scouting and later shifting to Director of Pro Scouting. It is always difficult to assign responsibility for specific moves unless you are directly in the room with a front office (which none of us are), but the Sabres have made a number of good moves in recent years, including trading for Ryan McLeod and Josh Doan, as well as signing Jason Zucker.
Typically, a Director of Player Personnel sits a notch above a scout and, in this case, oversees the pro scouting side of things. Previously, Derek Clancey served as the Leafs‘ Assistant General Manager of Player Personnel.
When the Leafs announced their most recent round of layoffs, one thing we noted to monitor was whether the organization was simply cutting jobs or replacing people. In this case, there is a clear line connecting Crowe’s role to the one Clancey previously held, but the title has shifted from Assistant General Manager to Director. Dave Morrison, who was also let go, served as Senior Advisor of Player Personnel.
To be frank, the Leafs had far too many assistant general managers previously. They had five last season, along with Special Advisor Shane Doan, who appeared to play little meaningful role as the Leafs‘ season crumbled in a slow burn before our very eyes. They were then unable to navigate the trade deadline with much imagination or negotiating tact.
You can’t simply look at the previous regime and conclude that because something failed, it should never be done that way again. That line of thinking creates its own set of problems. Ultimately, many of the organization’s issues fell on Brad Treliving, who oversaw the entire operation. That said, the sheer number of assistant general managers felt excessive. It started to resemble a front office where individuals were receiving inflated titles—and, by extension, likely higher salaries—rather than serving clearly differentiated roles.
Organizations often hand out titles like Assistant General Manager as a way to retain valued staff, since lateral moves are generally blocked and an AGM can realistically only leave for a general manager position elsewhere. Nonetheless, the Leafs‘ front office had become bloated over the years, and reshaping it has clearly become a priority.
Not even halfway through the summer—and with likely more changes still to come—here’s a look at how the top of the organization has changed:
| Previous | Current |
| Brad Treliving, GM | John Chayka, GM |
| Special Advisor to the GM, Shane Doan | Senior Executive Advisor, Mats Sundin |
| AGM, Brandon Pridham | Chief of Staff, Freddie Hamilton |
| AGM, Minor League Operations & GM, Toronto Marlies, Ryan Hardy | AGM, Minor League Operations & GM, Toronto Marlies, Ryan Hardy |
| AGM, Hockey Research & Development, Darryl Metcalf | AGM, Player Evaluation, Judd Brackett |
| AGM, Player Development, Hayley Wickenheiser | |
| AGM, Player Personnel, Derek Clancey | Director of Player Personnel, Jeremiah Crowe |
| Senior Advisor, Player Personnel, Dave Morrison | |
| Director of Amateur Scouting, Mark Leach |
I
I would imagine the Leafs will hire someone to lead Player Development, and there are already rumblings that Ryan Hardy could be promoted. It was noteworthy that Steve Sullivan mentioned Hardy was part of his interview panel when he interviewed for the Marlies‘ head coaching position. If Hardy is promoted, the Leafs would also need to hire a new Marlies general manager. It will also be interesting to see whether they bring in a new Director of Amateur Scouting.
Ultimately, last season was such a mess that almost anything is going to look good by comparison. The bar is currently incredibly low.
Provided they make a few more hires—and there are obvious vacancies to fill, as noted—the overall size of the front office could remain relatively unchanged. If that’s the case, this becomes less about cutting costs and more about redistributing responsibilities and reorganizing the department.
Like every general manager, Chayka deserves the opportunity to build the organization the way he sees fit, with personnel he has personally selected. So far, he’s been busy doing exactly that, with Hardy standing out as the only notable holdover.
This has very quickly become Chayka’s front office and Chayka’s team. He deserves some credit for not sitting on his hands and ripping the Band-Aid off instead. That said, we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves. The real test begins when the games start, and ultimately, the proof will be in the pudding.
