Five Potential Maple Leafs GM Candidates: Two For The Retool, Three For The Rebuild

In the wake of the blockbuster news that Toronto Maple Leafs fired GM Brad Treliving, attention quickly turned to who his replacement will be.

Speculation is already skyrocketing in terms of who the Maple Leafs will hire as their next GM.

There are two roads ahead for this Toronto franchise. One road features a retooling process that gets the team back in the Stanley Cup playoffs next season, and the other road includes a full rebuild.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president-CEO Keith Pelley hinted at choosing the retooling road, telling media Tuesday there were foundational pieces in place (presumably, center Auston Matthews and winger William Nylander).

So we're recommending two groups of people as the best choices for Leafs GM. The first group includes two people who can kick off a retool-on-the-fly, while the second group includes three people who can focus on a long-term rebuild.

Here are our picks as to who should be the next Maple Leafs GM:

We said it before in early March, but we believe hiring Chris Pronger would send a much-needed jolt through the Maple Leafs organization.

While Pronger doesn't have the type of resume as a hockey executive that he did in his Hockey Hall of Fame NHL playing career, his strong opinions would leave no doubt as to where the buck would stop in Toronto.

Just as Pelley noted, a data-driven hockey executive like Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky surrounds himself with many hockey execs who aren't data-driven, the converse could be true for Pronger, as he could surround himself with data-driven minds.

But Pronger succeeded just about everywhere he played, so he knows exactly what type of roster can get the job done for a team. And with strong backing from Leafs ownership, Pronger could engineer a retool that satisfies his urge to win sooner than later.

Pridham currently serves as an assistant GM for the Maple Leafs, and he's become famous for his expertise on the NHL's salary cap.

So he's definitely a newer breed of management person, and what he's lacked in terms of being an NHL (or professional) player, Pridham makes up for by being a numbers guy who may thrive with the right opportunity.

Pridham has been a Leafs assistant GM dating back to the Kyle Dubas Era, and he's now also served under Treliving.

Sometimes you have to take a chance on an unproven person who could thrive given the right opportunity, and that's why Pridham might very well be the smartest hire Pelley could make. Few know the organization as well as Pridham does, and he's also a local boy who knows what it means to run the most lucrative hockey team on the planet.

So if Pelley looks in-house for his next prominent hire, Pridham could be the person picked as GM.

Currently the mastermind behind the OHL's juggernaut London Knights, Hunter was a Leafs executive from 2014 through 2018, first as director of player personnel, then as a co-interim GM, and finally as an assistant GM under icon Lou Lamoriello.

When youngster Kyle Dubas moved up to Leafs GM after being on the same level as Hunter for a number of years, Hunter chose to cash in his chips and move back to London, where he and his brother, former NHL star Dale Hunter, have worked ever since.

Hunter is more of an old-school executive, whereas Dubas is the more data-driven person the Leafs were more drawn toward when replacing Lamoriello.

However, Hunter could work with Pelley to ensure there is a slew of data analysts for the team under his vision.

Hunter's track record as a talent evaluator makes him an attractive option if Toronto decides to embark on a lengthy rebuild. Hunter would no doubt ask for the patience of Leafs ownership as he slowly corrects the franchise's course, and that wouldn't be an unreasonable ask. But if Hunter convinces Pelley that a long rebuild would bring long-term gain after short-term pain, we can absolutely see Hunter's pedigree as a talent-identifier being what gets him the Leafs job.

Granted, this pick would only be possible if the Detroit Red Wings fired Yzerman as their GM – but with the Red Wings on the verge of failing to make the playoffs for the 10th consecutive season, that's very much a possibility.

While there would definitely be risk involved with hiring an exec in Yzerman who hasn't been able to get the job done in Detroit, it's also true that Yzerman has helped restock the cupboards with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Wings.

Yzerman may not want the Leafs job, but he also has to know that there are only 32 NHL GM jobs to be had, and he may not get other offers. Thus, if he winds up being turfed in Motown, Toronto is not far away and has an intriguing opportunity for a new GM to build a fresh Cup contender.

As Pelley noted, the team has foundational pieces of the puzzle to work with, and that may be enough for Yzerman to get back on the horse if the Red Wings decide to go in another direction.

Last week, we touted Wickenheiser and Pridham as current NHL assistant GMs who could be hired to run their own team.

Wickenheiser has balanced a very productive life as a Maple Leafs assistant GM and a Toronto-area physician. She's been a pioneer in her days as one of the greatest women's hockey players in the history of the sport, and with the Leafs, she's worked in player development – a field that Pelley and Leafs management will want more out of as they try to transition to a new era with younger players.

Wickenheiser was a master motivator as a player, and she can run a team. Her fierce passion for the game is what the Leafs need more of.

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