The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in a state of transition from the moment they fired GM Brad Treliving at the end of March – and their changes continued Sunday with the announcement that new Maple Leafs GM John Chayka was letting go of two assistant GMs, including salary cap expert Brandon Pridham.
We anticipate Pridham won’t be out of work for long. His intricate knowledge of the collective bargaining agreement and the salary cap will make him a hotly pursued management member by one team or another, and Chayka will need to either replace Pridham in that specific area or do the heavy lifting in that regard all by himself.
But the key note here is the swiftness of Chayka’s moves. From the day he was hired on May 3, Chayka (and senior executive advisor Mats Sundin) has wasted no time in ushering in a new era for Leafs management.
The moves began May 13 with the firing of coach Craig Berube, and now the Leafs have shed the salaries of three executives: Pridham and assistant GM Derek Clancey, who was in charge of Toronto’s pro scouting. They have also parted ways with Shane Doan, who was brought to Toronto, alongside Clancey, by former GM Brad Treliving.
You may agree or disagree with Chayka’s early changes to the team. But you have to give him credit for moving swiftly. Now he needs to put together a new Maple Leafs management group and coaching staff well in advance of the NHL draft and free agency.
Things could change further in the coming days, but early returns show that Chayka didn’t take a broom to his management team and sweep everyone out. Assistant GMs Ryan Hardy, Darryl Metcalf, and Hayley Wickenheiser remain with the team, and Hardy has been doing good work in the front office, running the Leafs with Pridham from Treliving’s firing through Chayka’s hiring.
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Hardy has also been GM of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and the Marlies’ current playoff success has kept Hardy gainfully employed by the Maple Leafs.
Regardless, you can’t accuse Chayka of action paralysis, and that’s something some would say Treliving was suffering from through much, if not most, of his Leafs tenure. So if you’re a Leafs fan, you should feel confident that Chayka and Sundin are quickly moving to get a new team in place well in advance of the draft and free agency at the end of next month.
In many ways, Chayka has been doing the right thing by making changes early. At a time when the Vegas Golden Knights faced criticism for reportedly not granting permission to interview fired coach Bruce Cassidy, the Leafs look good for moving quickly and allowing Berube, Pridham, and Clancey to latch on with another team as soon as possible.
That’s a relatively minor detail, but word travels fast around the NHL community, and Chayka’s moves early in his Leafs tenure put him in a positive light.
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Chayka and Sundin are taking the bull by the horns. While time will tell whether it made sense to get rid of one of the league’s preeminent salary cap experts in Pridham, you must give Toronto’s new management team credit for moving quickly and setting an important tone for the organization.
The Leafs’ 2025-26 season was terrible, and it cost Treliving, Berube, and at least two assistant GMs their job. It’s important that there are notable consequences for that unfortunate development, but Chayka can now go about his business building the team his way.
That’s a positive for this organization moving forward.
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