Toronto Maple Leafs fire general manager Brad Treliving

“Throughout the course of this season, there has been deep analysis into both the current state of the Maple Leafs organization and the direction needed to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup championship to the city,” Pelley said in a statement. “Brad Treliving is a man that we all have deep respect for, but it was determined that the club must chart a new course under different leadership.”

It’s unclear what the move means for the future of coach Craig Berube, whom Treliving hired in May 2024.

"He gave me an opportunity here, and I feel like we let him down this year, said Berube, who won the Cup in 2019 with St. Louis.

The Leafs have not won it since 1967 and are on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention this season. This core — led by Auston Matthews — reached the playoffs nine consecutive years but won just two series in that time.

“He cares about everyone in that locker room and everything he did to try to give us the best possible chance to compete, put us in the best position to have success,” center John Tavares said. “Brad brought us all in here, (had) tremendous belief in us and we just didn’t deliver. It falls on us.”

Cutting ties with Treliving came just before a rematch against the Ducks, a little over two weeks since one of the touchpoints of Toronto's woeful few months. Matthews was injured March 12 on a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas and none of his teammates responded to a play that incurred a five-game suspension.

Max Domi fought Gudas off the opening faceoff Monday night, and he and his teammates racked up 59 penalty minutes in the first two periods — more than any game during Treliving's time as GM. They won 5-4 in overtime after finding out not long before puck drop about news players called shocking.

“We haven’t had much time to sit with it, so we’re still processing it,” defenseman Morgan Rielly, the team's longest-tenured player, said. “How I feel is in times like these where changes are made, it’s ultimately on the players. It’s a business based on results.”

Treliving was hired in May 2023 after then-president of hockey operations Brendan Shanahan fired GM Kyle Dubas. Shanahan did not have his contract renewed last year following a second-round exit, and no one took his spot in between Pelley and Treliving in the organizational pecking order.

Shanahan, Dubas and predecessor Lou Lamoriello constructed the top of the roster, from Matthews and Tavares to Mitch Marner and William Nylander. Treliving was running the team last summer when Marner's most recent contract expired and recouped some value in a sign-and-trade with Vegas rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.

Treliving, who was in his second NHL GM job following a lengthy stint with the Calgary Flames from 2014-23, was responsible for a handful of significant moves during his tenure in Toronto. That included an ill-fated March 2025 deal for defenseman Brandon Carlo that included sending Fraser Minten and a first-round pick to Boston.

His final acts were selling moves at the most recent deadline, trading Scott Laughton to Los Angeles and Bobby McMann to Seattle.

“I think he’s done a lot for this team,” forward Matthew Knies said. “I think he has helped. But yeah, I think that’s just kind of the way the business goes right now, and when we’re not performing it starts from the top.”

AP freelance writer Mike DiGiovanna in Anaheim, California, contributed to this report.

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