According to Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs may have had a much different GM to replace Kyle Dubas before finally settling on Brad Treliving.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs fired Kyle Dubas, it was meant to be a way to bring a new vision to a team who had failed consistently in the playoffs. They needed someone who could run things smoothly, but still have the fans best intentions in mind and put together a winning team.
So far that hasn't succeeded fully, and there are a lot of discussions about whether or not Treliving is the right man for the job, or if the team should pursue someone else to run their team.
However, we may have never even gotten to this point had things been a little bit different.
Marc Bergevin was nearly Maple Leafs GM before Brad Treliving
A new report from The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reveals that former Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin was on the shortlist for potential candidates to replace Dubas.
LeBrun also mentioned that Bergevin's been a highly sought after executive and could land a job in the near future:
Marc Bergevin was runner-up to Mathieu Darche for the New York Islanders GM; and also interviewed for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins GM jobs in the summer of 2023. Odds are he will land another GM gig at some point.
There was no indication that the Maple Leafs were ever going to bring Bergevin in, however it would have been a much different look especially knowing that it would be a former Canadiens GM coming in (no clue how the fans would have reacted).
However with the team settling on Treliving, they decided that he was the right man for the job. But going off LeBrun's report, Bergevin and the Maple Leafs may not be too disconnected.
Brad Treliving's job isn't exactly safe right now in Toronto
If the Maple Leafs fail to make the playoffs this year, continue to have a middling power play, and refuse to properly invest in the roster and their stars; it could be time for another switch.
Dubas was fired for failing to lead the team to the playoff success expected of them. So if the team doesn't even make the postseason to begin with, what does that say about Treliving?
He's had a pretty rough track record both in terms of getting to the postseason as well as making some pretty bad trades all things considered.
It might not have been Bergevin's time back in 2023 when the Maple Leafs decided to hire Treliving originally, but considering that he might be on the hot seat; Bergevin should keep his phone close by just in case.