NHL Rumor Mill – April 10, 2026
Check out the latest on the Maple Leafs, plus a list of coaches on the hot seat in today’s NHL Rumor Mill.
THE LATEST MAPLE LEAFS SPECULATION
THE ATHLETIC: Joshua Kloke reports Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly has no intention of finding an exit after this season ends.
“My desire to stay in Toronto is always going to be there,” Rielly said. “There’s a number of (reasons), but a big one is loyalty. Loyalty to the team that drafted you, I think that’s a powerful thing.”
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (NHL Images).
Rielly has four seasons left on his contract with an average annual value of $7.5 million. He’s a productive puck-mover, but has struggled defensively this season. That’s raised questions about his future in Toronto as the Maple Leafs make changes in the front office.
Asked if he’d consider waiving his no-movement clause if approached to do so by management, Rielly admitted it’s a possibility, saying it’s something as a player that you have to be prepared for. He also said he was not approached about waiving his clause before last month’s trade deadline.
Rielly told Kloke that he still believes in the team. He also wants to play a leadership role if management decides the Leafs must get younger.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Rielly could waive his clause if asked to do so, but it doesn’t mean that he will. Colton Parayko of the St. Louis Blues used his no-trade to spike a deal to the Buffalo Sabres last month. Rielly could do the same if asked to waive it for a destination that he’s not comfortable with.
It seems unlikely that Rielly or any of the Leafs core players will be moved this summer unless they ask to be traded. In his case, he definitely doesn’t want to go.
THE ATHLETIC: Pierre LeBrun reports the Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils received permission from the Florida Panthers to speak with assistant general manager Sunny Mehta about their vacant GM positions.
On March 30, the Maple Leafs fired Brad Treliving. Earlier this week, the Devils did the same with Tom Fitzgerald.
TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons noted the Maple Leafs’ interest in Mehta and in Carolina Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky (who isn’t available). He believes the Leafs should pursue more established management candidates rather than analytics experts. Simmons suggested going after someone comparable to Mehta’s boss, Bill Zito, who built the Panthers into a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The flaw with Simmons’ argument (apart from his disdain for analytics) is that there is no one like Bill Zito available right now.
Some Toronto pundits have been pining for Doug Armstrong, but he’s staying with the St. Louis Blues as team president. Marc Bergevin and Dean Lombardi have had varying degrees of success as NHL general managers. However, Bergevin’s record was a mixed bag in Montreal, and it’s been nearly a decade since Lombardi was a general manager.
We know that the Maple Leafs want a “data-driven” GM. What matters now is whether they can find the right one. Pining for a more established, old-school guy isn’t going to change that fact.
Could Mehta be the type of general manager to reverse the Leafs fortunes quickly? Maybe. Maybe not. But the pickings are slim right now, and Mehta has considerable analytics experience and two recent Stanley Cup titles on his resume. If you’re seeking a new general manager, you must go after the best available talent.
COACHES ON THE HOT SEAT
THE HOCKEY NEWS: The recent coaching changes involving the New York Islanders and Vegas Golden Knights have Adam Proteau looking at which bench bosses could be on the hot seat as the regular season winds down.
Kris Knoblauch of the Edmonton Oilers tops the list. He could be a goner if the Oilers fail to win the Stanley Cup this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs decline this season means Craig Berube’s days behind their bench could be over once the regular season is finished. Whoever replaces former GM Brad Treliving could want their own head coach.
Andrew Brunette of the Nashville Predators could also be replaced once they find a suitable substitute for outgoing GM Barry Trotz. Sheldon Keefe of the New Jersey Devils could suffer the same fate.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Berube is the most likely of this group to be relieved of their coaching duties. His defensive system doesn’t suit the way the Maple Leafs are built, and the pressure is on to find someone who can quickly help to reverse their fortunes.
Is Berube the new version of Ken Hitchcock? Trying to teach the young stallions how to slow down and play defense?
Depends what you mean by slow down Starsfan?
I would be surprised if there was a single NHL that didn’t want their team to play fast. Wheels help obviously, but moving the puck fast is just as important, if not more so.
But to your point, more and more teams apply pressure all over the ice now. Not sure the Leafs are built for that and Berube was trying to get them there? I dunno. Maybe MGT wants them to get there?
If you mean D zone coverage, ya maybe. I can’t speak to what the Leafs do. Don’t watch them enough. Man to man isn’t the most used, Carolina comes to mind and they do it really well. Hard to get good at, and you need team speed like the Canes. Is that the Leafs? Not really.
Ray and Starsfan … speed up … slow down … and all such theories as to how to bet utilize a roster are fine if and when a coach HAS a roster where he feels comfortable rolling 4 lines and not worry about that 3rd D pairing.
Where the Leafs are concerned, I think it’s been well-established that, for the longest time, it was a combination of being too top heavy on the cap, and a bare cupboard when it came to Grade A prospects gathered through the draft system, to build a strong bottom half of their F corps and bottom 2/3 D.
That, unfortunately, perhaps became glaringly obvious to Treleving as this season wore on. Any trade efforts to strengthen the team where it was need most might have been blunted by the fact that no one wanted any of their bottom-half Fs/D – at least not to the extent where who they’d get in return would be of any immediate help.
That, coupled with the plethora of NM/modified NT clauses, more or less paralyzed them.
Starsfan
I do believe that Berube is not the right coach for the Leafs.
His refusal to give ice time based on merit is obvious. He won’t play the young players to their strengths. Seems to be trying to put a square peg into a round hole.
You can even look at the guys that were traded, Laughton, McMann) that have found success with their new team as evidence he may not know how to play guys to their strengths.
Why play an ineffective vet like Jarnkrok over a player like Cowan? Which player has more of an upside?
Even look at the call-up of Villeneuve. Leafs have trouble getting the puck out of their end quickly and rather than use a guy that’s effective at it, Berube plays Benoit or Myers instead.
Until the Leafs can properly develop their own prospects, they will continue to tread water.
I think Berube will be shown the door at the end of the season.
Knies seems to be doing well in Berube’s system.
Laughton and McMann that have found success with their new team as evidence of playing harder for a new contract for teams they wish to stay with.
Johnny, yes and no but since you don’t follow the Leafs as much as their fans do. Daryl isn’t wrong and has pointed out one aspect of their failures. You can also add how much Burbe has forced a round peg in a square hole…what do you attribute to Matthews producing his lowest scoring or points results since Burbe became coach? I would love to see what you will say about that.
Starsfan, no he is not even close. You don’t get consistently outshot like 2 or 3 to 1 and game after game get out shot by a large margin be on the players. I know it’s a sexy take to blame players but in this case, it’s all on the system and this isn’t the case for this year. The difference between the two seasons is, injuries and two goalies that covered up all the horrid defense. I know this, because I’m a fan of the team and tune out the echo chambers.
BTW something needs to be done with the playoff seeding. Your team’s series coming up with the Wild is gonna be one of, if not the best series in the upcoming playoffs.
Dorion is always available to be the Maple Leafs GM.
Knoblauch took over a floundering Oilers team and led them to 2 SC finals. Can’t believe the bar is winning a championship or bust. Crazy.
Slick62, I don’t think it is the bar in Edmonton.
Although Katz can be the wild card. Bit of a strange dude. Lay off the plastic surgery man.
IMO it’s just speculation and McDavid commenting how well coached the Lightning are, and how good a coach Cooper is.
I don’t think he was trashing Knoblauch, he was lighting a fire under his team mates. That and telling the truth about Cooper and the Bolts. He is a great coach, the the team plays like they are well coached.
Oil have got it going since he did that, so I would suggest it worked, and I would be all the $$ in my pocket they haven’t changed their system much.
Bottom 6 in particular have got it going. Frederic in particular. Not light it up offensively, but he is way more engaged on the forecheck, moving his feet and is playing physical again. They are generating more then they’re giving up, and gaining momentum.
Isn’t this “hire a gm who is data driven” hazy? Why not hire an experienced GM and give him a good analytics department. Otherwise save the money and just have AI spit out data and make the decision for you. Kidding, sorta.
And the bigger question is: who is Pelley to say what the Leafs need in the first place, given that his sports background before being hired by MLSE was in golf? Who’s got a good short game, Keith?
LJ it’s widely known the Leafs have on of the best analytics dept in the league…if you know that then pair it with what Pelley said, it’s clear Tre (and his department) wasn’t or didn’t put much value on those guys. Also why Pelley was questioning if they had the “right number” of AGMs.
As for rebuilding, yes but it should be at the front office. The past has shown, they don’t have the right stuff to move this team forward.
Ok, thanks for that Ron.
One has to wonder how the apparent disinclination to use analytics didn’t show up in the recruitment process for Treliving …
It wasn’t too long ago the Leaf faithful were chest pumping and gloating about the fact they signed Berube as coach. Heck my fan base was complaining Ottawa went the cheap route getting Greene.
The perceived best isn’t always best for you. Id look long and hard through the profession of I were the Leafs. Find the guy that fits your team best. Hopefully he has a good old school eye gauge as well as an understanding of analytics. After all analytics are fine but thing adobe happen in a vacuum their number are quite the context provided by the good old eye test
Jeff, if you search the history it seems that, in early May 2024, while Berube was reportedly “intrigued” by the Senators’ offer, he also had interest from New Jersey and was also “keeping an eye on” a looming vacancy in Toronto. In fact, that latter had the usual suspects among the so-called “insiders” suggesting he was definitely “not going to Ottawa” … and that’s exactly how it played out. Whether it had specific ties to money or terms, or the “glamour” of the bigger market is not known, but the bottom line is, he thumbed his nose at Ottawa. Be interesting to see when and where he surfaces next IF he is indeed canned at the end of the season (it won’t ever be Ottawa, regardless of the future circumstances).
Yeah Jeff, I don’t think so bud. I don’t remember a lot of Leafs fans jumping up and down regarding the hire of Burbe. Maybe you can point out the many examples you’re referring.
George, I don’t think he snubbed the Sens unless you consider taking more money joining a bigger organization snubbing. In your defense though, he was still being paid by the Blues unless that paycheck ends when your become employed by another team, but I don’t know. Also the way the Sens are built, he probably would have had more success with the Sens than he has with the Leafs.
“There’s a number of (reasons), but a big one is loyalty. Loyalty to the team that drafted you, I think that’s a powerful thing.” Hello there Quinn Hughes.
Adam Foote should be on the list of coaches or be fired.
Gored1970.
But why Foote? He inherited a mess that the incumbent management created. They may not have started the team split between Miller and Pettersson but they didn’t intervene (at least not successfully, or soon enough). They signed Pettersson to a massive contract.
Worse still, go back to 2015 and review their draft picks. Other than Boeser, Hughes and the underachieving Pettersson, there is not one impact player. Part of the reason is they traded away so many first round picks. In 2020 and 2024 their first pick was in round 3.
Foote may be easy to sacrifice, but the problems are above him.
I am surprised Ron Francis hasn’t popped up as a name for the Leafs GM position.
Mostly because of his history with the team.
Francis has a terrible record as an executive.
Why Don t GM s look outside the box for their coaches.Deboer got spit out again, Bowness and Tortorella are pinch hitters. Why not look at a guy like Muse in Pittsburgh. Hands down the coach of the year with a senior citizen group that he inherited to coach!
Sr you and many of us think the same. Maybe these coaches and GM have brand recognition and in billion dollar companies, that matters and provides an appearance of quality or integrity.
There’s nothing to say someone new, fresh wouldn’t be any worse but maybe these owners would like to keep the boys club together and keep things exclusive.
No trade clauses and an older, slower team.
Visions of Muskoka dance in my head five times over.
George O
With regards to your comment above about the Leafs prospect cupboard being bare I’ll say this…
Even while Keefe was coach there was a reluctance to give their prospects or young players a legitimate opportunity to play to their strengths in the NHL.
Look no further than Robertson, Steeves, and Minten. Steeves was a highly touted NCAA free agent signing that barely got a sniff of action with the Leafs. Minten was bundled in the trade for Carlo because the Leafs “couldn’t find a spot for him”. Seriously? All the comments about him were that he was “mature beyond his years”, “already has pro habits”
How different would the Leafs look this year with a few changes to the roster…slot in Minten (traded), Steeves (UFA to Boston), Cowan, and Villenueve and take out Jarnkrok, Lorentz, Domi, and Benoit .
Daryl, these coaches like Burbe and Keefe don’t want to risk their jobs by taking risks on unknowns. The leash is very short or (in Burbe’s case) nonexistent. They said next man up means, no babying someone into the lineup. They expect these players to step in without missing a step. No one can make sense with some of these guys.