Toronto Maple Leafs Rumors: Team Pinpoints One Quality New GM Must Have

For the first time in five years, the Toronto Maple Leafs are into the process of finding a new general manager. And after half a decade of Kyle Dubas, it sounds like the Leafs are looking to go in a slightly different direction with the next person to hold that job.

According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, there's one quality in a GM that the Leafs really want to... sink their teeth into:

They're looking for a GM with some bite. A GM who won't be afraid to make decisions. (And) there are some big decisions that they have coming up.

Probably the biggest decision on a new general manager's plate will be the status of a possible extension for superstar Auston Matthews. He's eligible for one as of July 1st, which is the same date that he gets a full no-move clause kicking in that will take him up to the end of his current contract after next season.

Friedman last night reports Leafs are looking for a GM with "bite", a GM that won't be afraid to make decisions. There are big decisions to make because it doesn't appear likely Auston Matthews will sign by July 1.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 21, 2023

"It doesn't appear likely that Auston Matthews will sign by July 1st," adds Friedman. "But that's not their only concern that they'll have to navigate. So I've heard that what they're talking about is they need someone who's not afraid to make big decisions."

One name on the Leafs' list of candidates immediately comes to mind. Brad Treliving, then the GM with the Calgary Flames, made one of those very tough, very big decisions just last summer, when he sent superstar Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for then-115-point man Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar after it became clear that the RFA Tkachuk would not return to Calgary.

You can't argue that that wasn't a move with plenty of "bite." Of course, it was mostly the Flames that got "bit" as Huberdeau had his worst season in eight years for Calgary. His 60-point drop in production year over year set an unfortunate new NHL record.

Photo: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports