Maple Leafs Make Controversial Hiring In GM Search

Wednesday, April 08, 2026 ,
Toronto Maple Leafs logo.

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't hired a new GM yet, but they've already managed to create controversy. 

Toronto retained Neil Glasberg and The Coaches Agency to help run the search for their next head of hockey operations, and people noticed something almost immediately: Sunny Mehta, Florida's assistant general manager and one of the more talked-about candidates for the job, is a Glasberg client. 

The same person managing Toronto's search also represents one of the people being considered for the position.

Why This Specific Firm Hire Is Raising Red Flags

Glasberg isn't new to this kind of work. He's run similar searches for the Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, and Philadelphia Flyers. 

The problem people are pointing to is that his main business isn't search consulting, but representing NHL executives and coaches. 

When you're paid to find candidates and also paid by some of those candidates as their representative, you have money on both sides of the transaction. 

Frank Seravalli, who has covered this issue before, posted a text from a current NHL executive that laid out the concern: "1. Get paid to run a search. 2. Search hires your client as GM. 3. Client hires another client as head coach. The only question is if Neil can hit a superfecta." 

Seravalli also noted that another team, Nashville, terminated a search firm arrangement earlier this spring after the NHLPA flagged a conflict of interest concern. Similar issues surfaced during the Flyers' search in 2023, when a Glasberg client ended up getting the job. 

The NHL's response at the time was that they were aware of his client list and saw no issue. That answer didn't satisfy many people then, and it's being relitigated now in the context of Toronto.

Who is Sunny Mehta?

Florida promoted Mehta to assistant general manager in September 2023 after three seasons as vice president of hockey strategy and intelligence under Bill Zito. 

He's considered one of the sharper analytical minds in NHL front offices, and Keith Pelley said explicitly when he fired Treliving that he wants the next hire to be data-driven. 

Mehta fits that description closely enough that his name was already circulating before Glasberg entered the picture. 

Now that the search firm running the process also represents him, the optics have shifted. 

Darren Dreger noted Tuesday that Glasberg has not been hired to influence the outcome, but his role is to manage the process, to look a little deeper into candidates, and provide some more help beyond Toronto's own internal list. 

Photo Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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