Maple Leafs Announce Three New Scouting Department Hires

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced three front office hires on Wednesday, continuing general manager John Chayka’s overhaul of the team’s scouting and analytics infrastructure: Dan Palango as Director of Amateur Scouting, Brad Rossen as Vice President of Research & Development, and JP Perpich as Director of U.S. Amateur Scouting.

Palango arrives with roughly 17 years of NHL scouting experience, including 11 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks (2009-10 through 2019-20) and six more recently with the Minnesota Wild. The move reunites him with Judd Brackett, who spent years working alongside Palango in both Vancouver and Minnesota and now serves as Toronto’s assistant GM. Palango will oversee the draft board as the Leafs look to rebuild their prospect pipeline.

Rossen returns to Chayka’s fold after previously serving as director of analytics for the Arizona Coyotes from 2016-17 through 2019-20, when Chayka ran that front office. In the years since, Rossen worked as a consultant for CAA Hockey and became a certified agent in 2025. In his new VP role, he’s expected to bring an analytics-heavy approach to identifying undervalued talent.

Perpich, meanwhile, spent the past five years with the Wild, the last four as an amateur scout, and worked closely with both Brackett and Palango there. He’ll now lead Toronto’s scouting efforts across the USHL, NCAA, and other U.S. amateur circuits.

The hires follow a sweeping staff purge under Chayka that reportedly removed 14 personnel, including former assistant GM Hayley Wickenheiser and director of amateur scouting Mark Leach. Notably, three of the incoming hires, Palango, Perpich, and Assistant GM Judd Brackett, all come directly from Minnesota, signaling a scouting department built around a trusted, familiar core as Chayka resets Toronto’s approach to the draft and player evaluation.