Report: Mike Gillis 'Intrigued' By Opportunity To Retool Maple Leafs
This is the second time Gillis' name has been reported as a potential candidate for the Maple Leafs' head of hockey operations job.
Mike Gillis is reportedly interested in the idea of attempting a retool with the Toronto Maple Leafs . In an article from James Mirtle of The Athletic , he highlights a pitch Gillis wrote for the former owner, Mario Lemieux, and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021, and debates whether a similar layout would work in Toronto now. He adds in the story that, "According to league sources and those who know Gillis well, however, he is on friendly terms with Pelley and is intrigued by the opportunity that attempting to retool the Leafs would present.
" In the days after the hockey club fired Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving , MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment) president and CEO, Keith Pelley, said the hope was to bring in a new "head of hockey operations" by the end of May. "But if not, very early June," Pelley said , "because you need to prep for the draft. " There's no doubt a laundry list of names who'd want to throw their hat in the ring for an opportunity to try and lead one of the NHL's biggest franchises back to playoff success.
But Gillis' track record would make him a fascinating name for Toronto. As general manager of the Vancouver Canucks from 2008 to 2014, Gillis led the organization to back-to-back Presidents' Trophies in 2010-11 and 2011-12, and the Stanley Cup Final in 2011. It's arguably one of the best eras in Canucks history since their inception in 1970.
"That’s a name that they have kind of looked at, and I can see why," r eported Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on The Fan Hockey Show on Wednesday. " He took a team that was really struggling and took them to the edge of the Stanley Cup Final. I don't know that it's gonna be Mike Gillis, but I think that he is the kind of person that they've been looking at so far.