The Toronto Maple Leafs are still without a general manager after the team parted ways with former GM Brad Treliving in March, but that may change soon with a recent report from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The report states that the Leafs have narrowed their search down to four names and even interviewed three of them.
While we once gave the case for now-former Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta to fill the job opening, he has since been named as the new GM of the New Jersey Devils. However, the names reported by Friedman offer some interesting picks, with three being assistant and/or AHL GMs, and one being the former youngest GM in league history.
We will be taking a look at the four finalists for the Leafs’ GM job, providing background on their experience, as well as analyzing their potential fit with the Maple Leafs.
Let’s begin.
Scott White
While Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill inked a two-year extension with the team earlier in April, the Leafs have reportedly shown interest in one of his colleagues, recently interviewing Stars assistant GM Scott White. The 58-year-old is a true hockey lifer, playing in the ECHL, IHL and AHL in the 90s. After he retired as a player, he went straight into coaching, working as an assistant at Michigan Tech at the collegiate level and as head coach of the ECHL’s Columbia Inferno in the early 2000s.
With the Stars organization, White has worked his way up from the bottom and notably led the team’s AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, to a Calder Cup championship in 2014, and that same year, he was picked to manage Canada’s Spengler Cup team. So with White’s deep hockey background in mind and his history of success both at the AHL and NHL levels, he could be a good option for a Leafs team that is likely still looking to contend within Auston Matthews‘ championship window.
Evan Gold
The Maple Leafs have a history of bad luck against the Boston Bruins, and at this point, it seems like a tale as old as time, but with reports that the team is interested in current Bruins assistant GM Evan Gold, perhaps the Leafs can finally take something back.
The 46-year-old has been a key member of Don Sweeney‘s management team in Boston, and like White, Gold had to pay his dues to get where he is today. Before getting to Boston back in 2015, Gold worked in the operations department of the Washington Capitals—a job that initially started out as an internship.
Coming on as the Leafs’ GM would also be a homecoming for Gold. Not only is Gold a Toronto native, but he also attended the University of Toronto, where he earned both law and MBA degrees. If the Leafs want to combine solid past experience with a hometown edge, Gold may be just what the doctor ordered.
Ryan Martin
Another confirmed interview the Leafs have reportedly conducted was with New York Rangers assistant GM Ryan Martin. And it makes sense that Martin would be a person of interest for MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley. Martin has been a key part of a Rangers front office that has opted for brief retools as opposed to full-on long-term rebuilds to stay competitive—a route that the Leafs will likely look to take this summer.
Martin has over 20 seasons of scouting and front-office experience, and, apart from his work with the Rangers, he has also had success at the AHL level as an assistant GM for Ken Holland with the Grand Rapids Griffins, helping them win the Calder Cup in 2017. More recently, he has taken over GM duties for the Hartford Wolf Pack, leading them to two playoff appearances since assuming the role in 2021. With this experience in mind, it makes sense that Pelley is interested.
John Chayka
Remember when we said one of the final candidates had prior NHL GM experience? Well, that candidate is former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka.
Chayka is already the youngest finalist for the Leafs GM job at just 36 years old, but at 26, he became the youngest GM in league history when he was hired by the Coyotes. While the Coyotes weren’t especially dominant during Chayka’s four years with the team, he did manage to lead them to the postseason in his final year with the team.
The end of Chayka’s time in Arizona was not without controversy. Chayka got in hot water with the NHL after talking with other teams about job opportunities without getting permission from the Coyotes organization, and he was also in charge of the organization when they hosted a private scouting combine for draft prospects. This resulted in Gary Bettman punishing Arizona by forcing them to forfeit their second-round pick in 2020 and their first-round pick in 2021.
Chayka would be a cool pick for the Leafs GM job, given his data-centric outlook that lines up with what Pelley is quoted as looking for, but his past controversy could certainly raise some concerns.
