Brad Treliving was fired as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday.
The 56-year-old was in his third season as GM after replacing Kyle Dubas on May 31, 2023.
"I don't believe the current state of the team rests on Brad's shoulders but after analysis throughout the entire year including countless conversations with key personnel and hockey observers, I made the decision supported by ownership that the team must chart a new course under different leadership to achieve our ultimate championship goal," Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and CEO Keith Pelley said Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs (32-30-13) are seventh in the Atlantic Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference this season. Last season, they won the Atlantic with 108 points (52-26-4) and defeated the Ottawa Senators in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in seven games in the second round.
"We have all the resources to be successful but without the right structure, the right processes in place, without the right culture, without the alignment and accountability among everyone inside the operation, we will not be successful. That change starts today," Pelley said. "I'm disappointed in our results this, and I'm disappointed in the results that we have provided to our fans but today is a step to change them and to get back to our winning ways and to contend for the Cup on an annual basis."
In Treliving's first season as GM, Toronto finished third in the division and was eliminated by the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round.
Following that first season, Treliving and the Maple Leafs were busy in the offseason. They acquired defenseman Chris Tanev in a trade with the Dallas Stars and brought in another defenseman in Oliver Ekman-Larsson in free agency. Most notably, though, was the hiring of Craig Berube to replace Sheldon Keefe, who was fired as coach on May 9, 2024.
After winning just their second playoff series in more than 20 years last season, the Maple Leafs were busy in the offseason again. The most notable move was the departure of forward Mitch Marner, who was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights as part of a sign-and-trade agreement. In an effort to fill the gap left by Marner, Toronto acquired forward Nicolas Roy in the trade with Vegas, as well as forward Matias Maccelli in a trade with the Utah Mammoth, and forward Dakota Joshua in a deal with the Vancouver Canucks.
"We wanted to build something here and didn't. Last year, we were right there. We didn't succeed, and this year, we obviously dropped off," Berube said after a 5-4 overtime win at the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. "Coming out of the Olympic break, that's what still bothers me more than anything. We battled pretty good to get to where we were with different situations that went on throughout the season, injuries and other things, but we put ourselves in a good spot after the Olympic break, and just coming out of it, we didn't perform well enough, obviously, to put ourselves in a better position. We worked hard on the break and got ourselves prepared, but it didn't translate to the ice.
"He gave me an opportunity here, and I feel like we let him down this year."
In Treliving's three seasons as GM, the Maple Leafs went 129-82-27.
"He cares about everyone in that locker room, and everything he did he did to try to give us the best chance possible to go out there and compete," Maple Leafs forward John Tavares said. "(He) put us in the best position to have success ... so as a team and individually, it's certainly disappointing that it's come to this."
Prior to being hired by Toronto, Treliving spent nine seasons as GM of the Calgary Flames. During his tenure there, the Flames went 362-265-73, but they only made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs twice and had five coaches: Bob Hartley, Glen Gulutzan, Bill Peters, Geoff Ward and Darryl Sutter.
Before his time with the Flames, Treliving was vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM of the Arizona Coyotes for seven seasons.
NHL.com independent correspondents Dave McCarthy and Dan Arritt contributed to this report.
