The Toronto Maple Leafs unexpectedly dismissed general manager Brad Treliving on Monday night as the regular season neared its end. The organization is now searching for a new GM to steer the team in the right direction. One of the potential candidates being discussed is Mike Gillis, the former general manager of the Vancouver Canucks, who has not been involved in an NHL front office role for over ten years.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned Gillis as a serious contender during his appearance on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. He linked Gillis to MLSE CEO Keith Pelley’s preference for a “data-centric” leader, noting Gillis’s innovative history in the field.
“I’ll say this, so, you know, Mike has interviewed for positions here and there since then, Nashville, in the search, he was contacted for it, in New Jersey, if I remember correctly, when they hired Tom Fitzgerald, he was in the mix for that,” Friedman explained. “He also, I believe, tried to buy the Arizona Coyotes at one point, and made a pitch to do that. So he’s kind of been around.”
Friedman shared his thoughts on why Gillis could be a good fit for Toronto, while also pointing out potential issues due to his long absence from NHL management.
“Like the data-centric thing, like that is Mike Gillis, no question about it,” Friedman emphasized. “Any of the sleep doctors, like him going to the league to talk about schedule. He was ahead of the curve on a lot of things.”
Gillis implemented a greater focus on sleep and rest before games, creating comfortable spaces for players to recover instead of overexerting them—elements that were often overlooked at the time.
During his six-year stretch from 2008 to 2014, Gillis achieved an impressive 260-144-51 record over 455 regular season games, guiding Vancouver to five consecutive Northwest Division titles and two Presidents’ Trophies. He earned the General Manager of the Year Award at the 2011 NHL Awards after setting a franchise record with 117 points in the regular season and winning the Clarence Campbell Bowl as Western Conference playoff champions.
Elliotte Friedman highlights a concern regarding Mike Gillis’s candidacy for the Maple Leafs GM
Friedman did not hesitate to address what could be a significant challenge for Gillis in Toronto’s intense market. He noted Gillis’s historically strained relationship with the critical media.
“I think the thing that happened with Mike at the end there was when it turned and things started going poorly, he didn’t have a lot of patience for critical media and stuff like that, like some of us could be.”
Friedman suggested that Gillis would need to adjust his approach if he aims to succeed in Toronto, one of the most media-intense markets in hockey.
“And I would say that if there’s one thing that he is going to have to change, if he wants to come into Toronto and he wants this job, and this is bad for us, he’s going to have to care less what we think.”
After his time in Vancouver ended, Gillis applied for the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager position in 2021, creating a 27-page proposal outlining his plans to redirect the team’s path, with data as the key component. This proposal led to a consulting role for business development with the NHLPA from 2021 to 2023.
Edited by Anjum Rajonno
