Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving recently bolstered the team’s backend by adding four key personnel to both the scouting and player development sectors.
This move comes as the Leafs aim to maintain competitiveness and deepen their talent pool. GM Brad Treliving has added quite the team to the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, adding head coach Craig Berube, assistants Marc Savard and Lane Lambert, and re-signed long time Maple Leafs executive Cliff Fletcher.
These additions strengthen the organization’s focus on nurturing upcoming prospects and sharpening their scouting capabilities to identify new talent across different levels.
Treliving’s approach, especially after a few strategic off-season acquisitions, is aligned with the Leafs’ overall strategy of building from within, which includes promising young players such as Fraser Minten and Ben Danford. Minten has already gained attention with his solid play early in the season, and Danford, drafted in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft, is expected to be a key future asset on the blue line. Additionally, the organization has focused on European prospects like Nikita Grebenkin, who is expected to make an impact in the coming years.
The Maple Leafs announced that they had hired Jason Taylor, Jerrod Smith, Scott Carter, and Jake Muzzin as part of their team.
The new hires will play a pivotal role in evaluating and developing these prospects, ensuring the Maple Leafs remain competitive in the future while keeping their roster dynamic. By enhancing both the scouting and player development departments, Treliving is ensuring that the Leafs can continuously feed their NHL lineup with homegrown talent, allowing the team to remain agile in a fast-changing NHL landscape.
Jerrod Smith comes over to Toronto after spending over a decade with the Windsor Spitfires, most recently as their head coach for 2023-2024. He worked under Marc Savard when he was coach of the Spitfires, and worked a variety of positions such as Associate Coach, Assistant Coach, and Video Coach in his time with Windsor.
Finally, the last and most well-known name is Jake Muzzin, a former NHLer who spent his final years with the Maple Leafs after a standout career with the Los Angeles Kings.
He’s a Stanley Cup Winner, helped Canada win international gold, and put together a solid career with 294 points in 683 games; oftentimes using his size and intimidation to help the Kings. He came to Toronto in a trade but injuries led to him being taken off the team and quietly retiring before taking on a player development role with the Maple Leafs.
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