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Toronto Front Office Search Picking Up Steam

Originally posted on Inside The Rink
By Jeremy Ridgewell | Last updated Apr 10, 2026 4:37 PM ET

While the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to search for the team’s next General Manager, they appear to be closing in on their next President of Hockey Operations. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, Toronto is keen on having Mike Gillis for a head office role. He is reportedly set to have a second meeting with MLSE CEO Keith Pelley.

“The talk about Mike Gillis is real. The Leafs have interest in him,” he said during Thursday’s edition of The Chris Johnston Show. “I believe there’s already been a conversation between Gillis and Pelley. I think there’s another one that’s coming up here.”

Johnston is the latest to report the connection between Toronto and Gillis regarding a role in the Maple Leafs front office. Elliotte Friedman from Sportsnet reported on March 31st that the Leafs were showing interest in Gillis. James Mirtle from The Athletic reported on April 2nd that people within the NHL who know Gillis well stated that he is on friendly terms with Pelley. Those sources also told Mirtle that Gillis is intrigued by the opportunity to help retool the Maple Leafs.

Toronto Like Mike Gillis

The last time Gillis was a legitimate candidate for an NHL front office job was back in 2021. At that time, he was considered for a role with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Reports at the time indicated that he only had an interest in holding a presidential role. Those feelings appear to have not changed in the five years since. Combine this with Pelley and MLSE being focused on a ‘data-centric’ individual who is open-minded to all types of front office structures. This explains why there is momentum for Gillis potentially landing a role in Toronto.

“The perceived negatives would be that he hasn’t worked in the league in 12 years. I think that’s obviously a fair point, but you know, he was a long-time agent, knows a lot of people in the game, those relationships persist,” Johnston continued. “Gillis had experience building the Canucks up from a place where they were adrift to where they got within one win of the Stanley Cup in 2011. He has worked in a market like Toronto. He has made the kind of decisions a GM would make. I think he makes sense.”

Big Front Office Changes Coming

Johnston also lists some other veteran executives who might get some consideration for the Maple Leafs’ head of hockey operations role. His list includes Dean Lombardi, Peter Chiarelli, Ron Francis, and Bob Gainey, among others. The fact that these are the types of people potentially in the running could suggest that Toronto is finally looking to fill the void left behind after the contract of Brendan Shanahan was not renewed last summer.

While it’s been suggested that Pelley is aiming to have the Maple Leafs front office roles sorted out by mid-May at the earliest, things certainly seem to be gaining traction. In addition to Gillis, the Leafs also have their sights set on Florida Panthers Assistant GM Sunny Mehta to replace the recently fired Brad Treliving.

Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun from The Athletic reported on Thursday that Toronto and the New Jersey Devils have been granted permission by the Panthers to conduct an interview with Mehta. Something of interest is that he is a client of Neil Glasberg and The Coaches Agency. The same search agency that the Maple Leafs have hired to assist in their hire for a head of hockey operations.

This article first appeared on Inside The Rink and was syndicated with permission.

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