Pelley cites ‘culture’ and ‘alignment’ as Leafs move on after Treliving’s dismissal

By Canadian Press on March 31, 2026.

TORONTO —

Keith Pelley confidently declared the right people were in place.

The president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment had just watched the company’s hockey club — the Toronto Maple Leafs — flame out of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs in spectacular fashion.

Team president Brendan Shanahan wouldn’t be replaced. General manager Brad Treliving was in charge moving forward as the Original Six franchise continued its elusive title quest.

Just over 10 months later, Pelley was back behind a microphone — and back at the drawing board.

The executive held a press conference in the Scotiabank Arena atrium Tuesday, just over 17 hours after firing Treliving in the final moments of a disastrous season circling the drain.

“I thought we had the right leadership,” said Pelley, whose Maple Leafs are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. “We didn’t have the alignment, we didn’t have the culture, we didn’t have the structure that we needed.”

Pelley said the search for a new hockey ops department — a GM and refilling the president’s role could be in the cards — will begin immediately, with a focus on “data-centric” candidates.

“Every single decision we make will be evidence-based,” he said. “That’s not to say there’s not room for the heart, that doesn’t mean there’s not room to check culture.”

Pelley wants to have the job search done by the NHL draft combine in early June, if possible.

“The most important decision that I will likely make in my tenure,” he added. “Although I will be measured and methodical, I will have to expedite the process.”

It doesn’t sound like Pelley is interested in tearing the roster down to the studs — the team still has star forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander — as it did a more than a decade ago when Shanahan arrived.

“A rebuild is needed when you are starting from scratch,” he said. “If we’re able to surround them with the right culture, with the right structure, with the right personnel, both on and off the ice, then I would say that we would be in a retool, not in a rebuild.

“Having said that … I will always wait for input from the new head of hockey operations.”

Pelley said the Maple Leafs’ misfortunes — they entered the day in third-last place in the Eastern Conference with a 32-30-13 record — could not be placed solely on Treliving.

“The team is blessed with the best resources,” said Pelley, who added assistant GMs Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy will share the duties on an interim basis. “But without the right structure, without the right processes in place, without the right culture, without the alignment and accountability among everyone inside the operation, we will not be successful.”

The future of head coach Craig Berube, who got Toronto past the first round for just the second time in the NHL’s salary cap era last spring, now also comes into even sharper focus.

“His role for the hockey club doesn’t change,” Pelley said. “Once we have a new head of hockey in place, if that recommendation (to fire) is around Craig Berube at that particular time, we will listen. Something as big as Craig Berube would go all the way to ownership.”

Pelley, who took over MLSE in April 2024, refused to go into detail about where he felt alignment was off, but pointed to what the NBA’s Raptors and Toronto FC of Major League Soccer — two other teams under the MLSE banner — have done in recent times.

“I’m not sure how many wins or losses culture represents,” he said. “But I’m seeing it first-hand right now.”

Pelley, who also declined to say if there were locker-room issues with the Maple Leafs because he’s not there day-to-day, said a successful culture runs through an entire business.

“Where you can have courageous conversations with everybody in the organization,” he said. “And the first reaction is not defensive.”

Treliving was hired by Shanahan after he fired Kyle Dubas as GM in May 2023.

Despite the loss of Marner when he bolted for the Vegas Golden Knights this summer, the Maple Leafs headed into training camp this season with hope. Treliving added forwards Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy to what was thought to still be a solid foundation in hopes of replacing Marner by committee.

The plan failed spectacularly.

Toronto dealt with a string of injuries and absences, but never looked in sync. The Maple Leafs rolled out a horrendous power play and have been a mess in their own zone.

Two years removed from a 69-goal campaign, Matthews scored just 27 times before suffering a season-ending knee injury on an ugly hit from Anaheim Ducks defenceman Radko Gudas. Toronto’s players didn’t do much in the immediate aftermath, which led to stinging rebukes from Berube, media members and fans.

“Some of the things that happened this year shouldn’t happen in Maple Leafs culture,” Pelley said. “And it won’t going forward.”

Treliving’s tenure, in the end, will be marked by the loss of Marner and the high price paid for defenceman Brandon Carlo and centre Scott Laughton at last season’s trade deadline.

The Maple Leafs shipped prized forward prospect Fraser Minten, a top-5 protected first-round pick this June and a 2025 fourth-rounder for Carlo, a veteran blueliner yet to meet expectations.

An underperforming pending unrestricted free agent, Laughton was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2026 conditional third-round pick — much less than what Toronto paid 12 months earlier, including a 2028 first-rounder — at this season’s deadline.

Treliving now out the door, the next person at the helm will be tasked with picking up the pieces.

“I’m comfortable doing anything that gives the Toronto Maple Leafs the best chance to win the Stanley Cup,” Pelley said. “Period. End of story.”