The Toronto Maple Leafs have already entered the offseason after failing to clinch the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
After parting ways with general manager Brad Treliving before the end of the regular season, the franchise is already working to reshape its front office, with several key positions open and other decisions mired in doubt, including who will coach the team next season.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Toronto has already taken the first step toward rebuilding its organizational chart, starting by interviewing a franchise icon and all-time Maple Leafs points leader.
“Quick note for a Friday morning: The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for someone new to lead their hockey operations,” Friedman reported. “In addition to that process, the organization is pursuing adding franchise legend in a management role.”
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Friedman revealed that the Leafs chiefs are set to meet with Mats Sundin, the franchise’s record scorer, about a potential position within the hockey department.
“Sportsnet has learned that ownership will meet with the Maple Leafs’ all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin, as soon as Friday about a role in the hockey department,” Friedman wrote. “An advisory role — or something along those lines — is being discussed.”
The report also notes that there is mutual interest in a reunion, though the specifics of Sundin's final role, if hired, remain undefined.
The news was later confirmed by multiple other outlets, including The Athletic's Chris Johnston, who reported that Sundin is in Toronto and expected to sit down with team ownership as part of the process.
Sundin, who served as the Maple Leafs captain for 13 seasons and finished his stint in Toronto with 987 points in 981 games, has largely stayed out of NHL-related roles since retiring but has maintained ties to the organization.
“Toronto’s management and coaches have taken me in, and it has been incredibly nice,” Sundin said in 2023. “Toronto has meant so incredibly much to my career; I was there for 13 years and the captain. Toronto is my second home; we live in Stockholm, but when I come there, it’s like coming home.”
The Maple Leafs have not had a president of hockey operations since 2025, when Brendan Shanahan left the franchise after holding that role from 2014 on.
