The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to announce the hiring of Judd Brackett as assistant GM on Monday as he moves from Minnesota onto a new challenge.
On Monday, Michael Russo revealed it was likely that the Maple Leafs were going to hire Judd Brackett, with Pierre LeBrun shortly confirming the same thing. Brackett was the draft guru who drafted Quinn Hughes in Vancouver, helped build the future of the Wild, and he's about to attempt the same thing in Toronto.
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The news was made official soon after by the Maple Leafs, who also named Freddie Hamilton as Chief of Staff.
Toronto's statement regarding the hiring of Brackett shows they are thrilled to have the longtime scouting maestro in their ranks per GM John Chayka:
We are thrilled to welcome Judd to our organization. He has established one of the strongest amateur scouting and drafting track records in the NHL and has consistently demonstrated an ability to adapt and evolve his approach as the game changes.
As we continue to build our hockey operations department, Judd will play a key role in integrating traditional scouting, video analysis, and data-driven insights to strengthen our decision-making process.
Brackett has spent the last six seasons as Director of Amateur Scouting with the Wild, and prior to that spent 12 years with the Canucks as both an amateur scout before moving up to Director.
Coincidentally, Hamilton is brother of NHLer Dougie Hamilton, who has been linked heavily to the Maple Leafs in trade rumours.
Since retiring as a player, Freddie earned his MBA from Yale and will focus on 'supporting strategic planning and cross-functional initiatives across the hockey operations department while working closely with the club's leadership group.'
Chayka also commented on Hamilton's hiring, and has equal enthusiasm bringing him aboard:
Throughout his playing career, Freddie distinguished himself through his character, professionalism, and work ethic.
Since retiring, he has built an impressive career in business and finance, gaining valuable experience across investing, strategy and organizational leadership.
His diverse background and collaborative approach will make him a valuable addition to our group as we execute key strategic initiatives and strengthen alignment across our hockey operations department.
It seems like the Maple Leafs front office isn't messing around ahead of the NHL Draft and want to make sure they've dotted the I's and crossed the T's.
Judd Brackett provides John Chayka with his first front office hire as GM of the Maple Leafs
He will mark the first real big front office signing since John Chayka took over as Toronto has already seen the old guard being changed with Brandon Pridham, Shane Doan and Derek Clancey all parting ways with the team this offseason.
There has been no official timeframe announced for the Maple Leafs to reveal Brackett to the media as of now.
Chayka certainly needs to add new AGM's after losing three staff members (though Doan was a special assistant) so there could be a possibility other names who were looking for GM jobs like Evan Gold, Ryan Martin or Scott White are in the mix for future assistant positions.
For now though, Brackett is going to be the guy focused on helping Chayka bring the new wave of stars into the Maple Leafs system, and given his proven track record. He was the guy who basically made the entire Quinn Hughes trade happen given he drafted all the players in that deal.
With a very important draft coming up, Brackett no doubt will be in the ear of Chayka while also working with the scouting team to figure out the best course of action - besides Gavin McKenna of course.
Do you think Judd Brackett is a good hire for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
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