report<\/a> by Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman.<\/p>\nThe executive search is continuing to play out while ownership does due diligence. Final decisions have yet to be made.<\/p>\n
To gain a better understanding of where things stand, The Athletic spoke to multiple league and team sources.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we\u2019re hearing:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sundin isn\u2019t the only former Leaf involved. Tie Domi, Sundin\u2019s long-time pal from their playing days in Toronto, is playing a role in the search. In addition to Sundin, Domi has established relationships with Pelley and Chayka. Tie\u2019s son and current Leaf Max Domi played for the Coyotes when Chayka was GM there. Former Leaf Gary Roberts has also spoken to the team as part of the process.<\/p>\n
\u2022 MLSE requested permission to speak to at least one GM currently working for another team, but had that request denied. The Maple Leafs did not formally seek permission to speak to St. Louis Blues executive Doug Armstrong.<\/p>\n
\u2022 One candidate who was interviewed described the process as professional. MLSE executive Humza Teherany is playing a key role in the search process, including in interviews. As chief strategy and innovation officer, Teherany is one of the highest-ranking executives in the company and is a trusted adviser to Pelley. Neil Glasberg, whose firm was hired to aid in the search, has also been in and around the interview process.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Interviews have been led by Pelley, with Teherany asking questions, as well. It was noted in those conversations that any decision on coach Craig Berube\u2019s future would be made after the new front office was put in place.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Keeping captain Auston Matthews and star forward William Nylander in Toronto has been noted in interviews as a priority for MLSE. Matthews has been rehabbing from knee surgery in Arizona and is not directly involved in the hiring process.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Scott White, an assistant GM with the Dallas Stars, hasn\u2019t been told as of yet that he\u2019s out of the running. Others who were invited to Toronto for in-person interviews last week have since been ruled out, including Boston Bruins AGM Evan Gold, New York Rangers AGM Ryan Martin and former Los Angeles Kings AGM Mike Futa.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Mike Gillis, whose name has also been involved in the executive search, had a relationship with Chayka when Gillis ran the Canucks, as Vancouver used Chayka\u2019s firm for analysis. Gillis\u2019 candidacy for a role with the Leafs, however, remains uncertain, as he hasn\u2019t been part of the later stages of the GM interview process.<\/p>\n
\u2022 During his press conference after Treliving\u2019s dismissal late last month, Pelley spoke about \u201chockey observers\u201d he was leaning on for support. That group has included Domi, Sundin and Roberts. It has also included others from Pelley\u2019s wider business network, including Todd Carroll, a former professional actor with a hockey background who met Pelley through Jay Monahan, the commissioner of the PGA Tour, and worked with him on Pelley\u2019s investment in the Birmingham City soccer team.<\/p>\n
\u2022 When he spoke last month, Pelley was unsure whether the Leafs would hire a president and GM, a president\/GM in one or simply a GM. A final management structure and the timeline for an announcement on the hires remain unclear. The NHL\u2019s Draft Lottery, which will be closely followed by all involved, is set for Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been just over a month since Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Keith Pelley relieved Brad Treliving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614279,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99,1788],"class_list":["post-614278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports","tag-toronto-maple-leafs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614278"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614278\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}