The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a season to forget. They may have one more match left before cleaning out their lockers, but after failing to secure a spot in the NHL playoffs, everyone will be pondering their role as they work on their golf game. Among the many things ownership will ponder are Sunny Mehta, Mike Gillis, Mark Hunter, and Chris Pronger.
These four are potential candidates to take over as General Manager of the Maple Leafs, replacing Brad Treliving. However, a new report reveals who is the favorite to take over the coveted position in Toronto.
Sunny Mehta is the Favorite to Be Named the Toronto Maple Leafs’ New General Manager
GettySunny Mehta is the betting favorite to be the Maple Leafs next GM
The GM position is perhaps the most stressful job in the hockey world for those who don’t step onto the ice in skates. It’s a position that sees considerable turnover, particularly if a team is not successful.
In the past five years, the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, and Montreal Canadiens are only a fraction of the teams that have hired new bosses.
Now, The Score has released the betting favorite to win the GM position with the Maple Leafs.
Leading the way is Mehta, with the best odds of -160. Following Mehta is Kevyn Adams with +500, Gillis with +700, Bill Scott with +1000, and Hunter rounding out the top five candidates with +1000.
Filling out the top 10 candidates, the odds are Brandon Pridham with +1200, Pronger with +1400, Hayley Wickenheiser with +1600, Rob Blake with +2000, Doug Armstrong with +2500, and Jason Spezza with +2500.
Paul Maurice on Sunny Mehta
Mehta is the current assistant GM for the Florida Panthers. Recently, the Panthers‘ head coach spoke very highly of the executive.
“Sunny is fantastic with analytics and his ability to articulate it to coaches with easy conversations,” Maurice said before the Panthers’ recent game against the Maple Leafs. “We get answers and explanations back. My experience in Florida with all of Bill Zito’s group has been fantastic, with Brett Peterson and Gregory Campbell as part of that group.”
“They’ve brought in guys from maybe outside who’ve worked out for us, become part of our core the last two years.”
Maurice went on to discuss the types of players that Mehta had a hand in bringing into the organization, which helped secure back-to-back Stanley Cups.
“Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a great example,” Maurice continued. “He (was) coming out of Vancouver, he’s injured, his career wasn’t where he wanted it to be. We’ve been able to find those guys; A.J. Greer, Ryan Lomborg, Kevin Stenlund. So many of these guys were healthy scratches a lot. Sometimes it’s finding the right mix of guys, but (the staff) hit that number, right?”
“Sunny was a big part of that.”
Maple Leafs Had a Season to Forget
To say that this season didn’t go the way that most Maple Leafs fans and pundits expected would be an understatement. Prior to their final game of the season, they currently sit in second-last place in the Eastern Conference. Only the Rangers have a worse record in the East.
With one game left in their 2025-26 schedule, they have 78 points in 81 games. Toronto owns a 32-35-14 record and is currently on a four-game losing streak.
Whoever will be the next Maple Leafs GM has their work cut out for them.
Matias Maccelli, Calle Jarnkrok, Nick Robertson, Troy Stecher, William Villeneuve, Matt Benning, and Henry Thrun are all coming off the books this summer. They are projected to have approximately $22.2 million in salary available to them next season.
That’s not a bad number to work with. However, some hard decisions have to be made. If they simply re-sign reach expiring free agent, that will nearly wipe out the salary space they possess.
The next boss will need to trim away some players while adding the right mix of role players to replace them. It’s going to take a lot of work. We will see who decides to make that task their own in the coming weeks and months.
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