The winds of NHL change are howling in Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena.
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Thursday loss to the San Jose Sharks 4–1 on the road officially eliminated Toronto from playoff contention, leaving six more games for the fan base to endure. The season’s April 15 finale in Ottawa can’t come soon enough for one of the NHL’s Original Six franchises, now holding form in eighth and last place in the Atlantic Division at 32–31–13 (77 points).
Maple Leafs’ center John Tavares netted his 29th goal on the season coming at 6:43 in the second period on assists by Easton Cowan and William Nylander.
Earlier this week Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) made the first of what is believed to be several changes, giving general manager Brad Treliving his walking papers after three seasons on the job. Toronto is missing the Stanley Cup postseason for the first time in 11 seasons. Treliving took over the GM role in May 2023, replacing Kyle Dubas. With Toronto last winning the Cup in 1967, not reaching the third-round of the postseason since 2002, and now 24 years without reaching the conference final, MLSE CEO Keith Pelley pulled the trigger on Treliving’s tenure with the team on Monday.
ESPN.com’s Kristin Shilton was in Toronto when Pelley discussed his decision.
“I honestly believe that we didn’t have the alignment, we didn’t have the structure that we needed to be successful,” Pelley said. “I don’t believe that the current state of the team rests entirely on Brad’s shoulders, but after analysis throughout the entire year, including countless conversations with key personnel and hockey observers, I made the decision, supported by ownership, that the team must chart a new course under different leadership to achieve our ultimate championship goal.”
“He gave me an opportunity here, and I feel like we let him down this year,” Berube said.
Pelley has said that he hopes to have a candidate to fill the general manager’s position by late May or early June. The 2026 NHL entry draft will be held June 26–27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
The new general manager will no doubt address the team’s salary obligations. According to Spotrac, an authority on sports teams’ financials and player contracts, the Maple Leafs’ total cap allocations for this season top $93 million. Toronto center Auston Matthews is the second-highest paid NHL player for the 2025–2026 season at $13.25 million. Teammate and fellow center Nylander at $11.5 million ranks 10th. Defenseman Morgan Rielly is collecting $7.5 million.
The new leadership will decide if Toronto will go into a rebuild and shed one or more of its superstars, or just tweak a few roster spots.
Adding pain to an already tough season, on March 12 in a game against the Anaheim Ducks at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto lost Matthews to an injury for the remainder of the season. A knee-on-knee collision with the Ducks’ Radko Gudas caused Matthews, 28, to suffer a Grade 3 MCL tear of his left knee and a bruised quad. There is a 12-week timeline of recovery. Will Matthews, with 10 seasons of service time in Toronto, be asked by the team’s new leadership to move to another team next season?
Getting healthy is a priority for the perennial all-star. Teammate Max Domi told NHL.com after Matthews’s surgery that he fully expects a successful rehabilitation program for the Maple Leafs’ captain.
“I don’t live in his mind,” Domi said, “but we’ve all been there as professional athletes. Injuries happen, it’s part of it. Adversity hits and some tough days for sure are ahead of him, but also some great days. He’s about as mentally strong as it gets, so he’ll find a way to come back even better than he was before, which is tough to imagine. But he’s already that good, so I’m excited to see that. It’s going to be a good summer for him.”
This season the Maple Leafs are sixth in team attendance, averaging 18,683 fans at home games.