The Leafs received only ‘one point,’ receiving a single fifth-place vote.
The Leafs received only ‘one point,’ receiving a single fifth-place vote.
Though there is an award in place for the NHL’s top general manager, the Jim Gregory Award, it has limitations in fully capturing the effectiveness of a team’s entire front office. The award, given annually after the second round of the playoffs, often reflects short-term success, favoring GMs whose teams reach the final four. As a result, it tends to overlook the long-term strategic planning, scouting, player development, and cap management that contribute to sustainable success over multiple seasons.
With that, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple, Chris Johnston, Michael Russo, and Scott Powers offer a more narrow focus, leaving room for a more nuanced evaluation in a poll featuring 40 high-ranking league executives (general managers, assistant GMs, senior advisers, and scouting directors) to establish the league’s best-run clubs. The voters remained anonymous and were not allowed to vote for their own teams, ensuring fair responses about how organizations are managed behind the scenes.
Participants ranked their top five front offices, with points allocated as follows:
10 points for a first-place vote
7 points for second place
5 points for third place
3 points for fourth place
1 point for fifth place
In the poll, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ front office was ranked a subpar 23rd, garnering only one point, courtesy of a lone fifth-place vote. Notably absent from the top tier of these rankings, which includes the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Boston Bruins, the Leafs received no first, second, third, or fourth-place votes.
“Not much love for the Leafs, who haven’t produced enough wins to go with all the attention around their core and status in Canada’s biggest market. GM Brad Treliving has a big Mitch Marner decision looming, so we’ll see where the Leafs go from here,” members of The Athletic wrote.
The Maple Leafs weren’t alone in failing to impress the voting body. Teams such as the Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, and Seattle Kraken received no votes, landing outside the top 23 altogether.
However, for a high-profile franchise with a core of star players, and the resources of Canada’s biggest market, the Leafs’ placement feels particularly underwhelming. When looking at the top-five voted teams, one factor sticks out: deep runs in the postseason and playoff consistency.
The Leafs’ low ranking serves as a message of the organization's inability to translate their front-loaded roster into consistent success (in the postseason). Although Toronto has made the playoffs in their last eight seasons from 2017, their inability to advance deep into the postseason appears to weigh heavily on the perception of their front office and questionable decision-making – especially surrounding the ‘Core Four’.
The idea of “running it back” doesn’t seem to draw a big crowd. When general manager Brad Treliving was brought in to replace Kyle Dubas, many were quick to suggest that the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander would be split up one way or another. Since he’s taken over, the club has re-signed its cornerstone piece (Matthews) and signed Nylander to an eight-year extension. Still to follow are pending unrestricted free agents Marner and Tavares, both who have expressed interest in re-signing.
The coming months could determine whether the Leafs can change the narrative around their front office or if they will continue to struggle for recognition among the league’s best-run franchises. Their unwillingness to make a major shake up has left a tarnishing look amongst other NHL executives, but they have attempted to become grittier and a tougher team to play against with Craig Berube at the helm and additions like Max Domi, Chris Tanev, Ryan Reaves, (formerly) Tyler Bertuzzi, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson amongst others.
The club has been heavily criticized for its salary structure, allotting approximately 60% of the cap to five players, but having yet to deliver the playoff success expected of a top-tier organization. Whether the team can straightforwardly turn the ship when May rolls around remains to be seen, but the front office’s current standing suggests that other executives are not holding their breath.
How to become the Tampa Bay’s and Boston Bruins of the league? Toronto will need to achieve more than regular-season wins and breakthrough when the Stanley Cup playoffs appear on the schedule if they want to change any perception of the current track record of the team.
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