NHL Rumors: 3 Potential Candidates to be Maple Leafs Next GM

Thursday, April 02, 2026 , , ,
St. Louis Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong reacts before 2025 game.

Brad Treliving is out as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and the team will miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade. 

The search for a replacement is already underway. 

Pelley was unusually direct in his press conference Tuesday, laying out exactly what he wants from the next person in that chair. They need to be data-centric. They cannot use the word rebuild. And they need to come in ready to make a team with foundational pieces, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, John Tavares, into an actual contender. 

Pierre LeBrun confirmed the search is starting immediately, and the early candidate list is already taking shape. 

Jim Nill was the first name to come off the board, as Dallas re-signed him to an extension within 24 hours of Treliving's firing. Here are the three other names worth keeping an eye on in this hunt.

Doug Armstrong

Armstrong is perhaps the loudest name in this search.

The 61-year-old has been part of two Stanley Cup championships, both as assistant GM of the Dallas Stars in 1999 and as GM of the St. Louis Blues when they won their first Cup in 2019, with Craig Berube as his coach. 

He'll be stepping back from his GM duties in St. Louis after this season, with Alex Steen expected to take over that role, and he also stepped away from his Hockey Canada responsibilities after managing Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

That's a fairly open calendar for someone widely considered one of the best executives in the league. Armstrong is known for making big, aggressive moves, the kind of trades that change a franchise's trajectory, and he has no fear of the Toronto media circus. 

Tyler Yaremchuk of Daily Faceoff mentioned Armstrong as a potential president of hockey operations who could be paired with a younger, data-driven GM underneath him, which could be the structure Pelley is building toward. 

The only question is whether St. Louis will let him out of any remaining contractual obligations.

Doug Wilson

Wilson has been here before, and he actually interviewed for the Leafs GM job before Treliving was hired. He ran the San Jose Sharks for nearly 20 years, ranks 15th all-time in GM wins, and has been working as a senior advisor with the Pittsburgh Penguins under Kyle Dubas. 

His departure from San Jose was health-related, but he's since recovered and has remained deeply involved in hockey operations. Wilson was known as a player's GM who built a genuine culture in San Jose, and the list of players he brought in (Joe Thornton, Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Dany Heatley) shows he's never been afraid to swing for franchise-altering deals. 

If Pelley wants someone who can mentor a younger data-driven front office while commanding immediate credibility in the locker room and around the league, Wilson could be his guy.

Jason Spezza

Elliotte Friedman said: "If Jason Spezza feels he's ready, I can't imagine why he wouldn't get an interview." 

Spezza played three seasons with the Leafs and joined Kyle Dubas's front office in 2022 before resigning when Dubas was fired and following him to Pittsburgh as an assistant GM. 

He's been building his management experience quietly alongside one of the league's most analytically progressive GMs, which is what Pelley says he wants. 

The complicated part of this scenario is the loyalty question, as Spezza's professional relationship with Dubas has been tight, and coming back to the organization that fired his mentor would be an interesting decision to make.

But he knows the Toronto market from his playing days, and he understands the modern analytical approach to roster building. He's also still young (42) for a GM candidate.

Photo Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

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