The Maple Leafs mole hunt is absolutely real and the fake GM candidate stories are the exact proof
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Though there's been a lot of talk about the new Maple Leafs GM, it's all hearsay and there could be some red herrings being thrown the media's way.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' GM search is coming down to the wire and while they have their names they are going to keep an eye on; it really has only come down to a two-man race.
Whoever wins out though be it John Chayka or Scott White, the new leader is going to have a tough time not only with making the team competitive and bringing trust back to the fanbase, but also deal with the constant pressure being placed on them by the aforementioned media.
We've been told that names like Mike Gillis, Evan Gold, Ryan Martin and others have all been told they are not in the running and it's trying to give the media and fans a better idea of who exactly could be coming in.
Maple Leafs could be throwing the media a few red herrings on their journey for a GM
Or maybe it's just a flat out lie.
There's potentially a 'mole' in the organization, and while they aren't whistleblowing on genuine issues, the fact they could be trying to stir the pot and deter the media isn't a farfetched idea.
It's something Elliotte Friedman briefly touched on:
There’s been so much leaks or noise that there’s some misdirection going here. I believe the plan was to bring Gillis in for another interview, but I don’t think that’s happened yet. So I don’t know where that stands.
Somebody in the organization could be given the task of leaking information to the media, and while there are genuine insiders like Friedman and Chris Johnston who are well trusted — there's always a reason to lie.
Why would Toronto want to show anyone their hand, especially when they know they can throw a few names like Gillis and Martin out there knowing that we in the media will immediately jump on things?
While we're distracted with the potential candidates, there's likely way more meetings and interviews than we are being led to believe and the team might wanna shock the system in a big way — let everyone know at the same time.
In this modern age where news and information can leak and spread like wildfire, the best deterrent to your truth not getting out is by creating a bunch of false narratives to keep people occupied.
Why the Maple Leafs' mole situation could end up being beneficial
We, along with all the other media are guilty of finding the breaking story and posting it. But as with any news, once more information is presented it quickly shifts the narrative.
For weeks we had teases about Chris Pronger being a potential GM candidate, he was seen in Toronto, he went on podcasts and basically gave his outline on how to build the team — and went all-in on their lack of toughness.
Fast forward to late April and we have news that Pronger never actually interviewed for that position whatsoever. We saw Mike Gillis come up, there's a lot of hoopla around him and now silence.
All of a sudden Gold, Martin, Chayka, and White's names all appeared, and there was talks with Peter Chiarelli, Gregory Campbell, Brandon Pridham, Ryan Hardy, heck — Mats Sundin was thrown out there too.
It's like the Maple Leafs took all the names they could think of, threw them out in the ether and said 'figure it out yourselves'. We're given a bunch of pieces to try and fit together meanwhile the team is already playing 4D chess.
The Maple Leafs are trying to snake out a mole because they feel that info is getting too public, but it's a great way to distract the fans and media while you take a bit more time to make the right decision.
We hope at least.
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Previously on Hockey Patrol