The new Team Canada front office is entirely built out of former Maple Leafs executives
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Team Canada has a blue and white front office to lead them in the World Championships as Brad Treliving, Jason Spezza, and Kyle Dubas were named executives.
The upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championships are always a treat to watch as we not only get more hockey, but we get to see some of the more underrated names get a shot at representing their country.
And Team Canada is going to have a very Maple Leafs-centric flair to it this year.
The irony of Brad Treliving and Kyle Dubas working together after the Toronto front office drama
It was announced Monday that Brad Treliving and Jason Spezza would lead the roster construction, meanwhile Kyle Dubas will serve as an advisor.
Senior vice-president of High Performance and Hockey Operations Scott Salmond is also a part of the group and had high praise for the new faces:
Brad brings invaluable experience from previous international events and the NHL, and Jason is a rising NHL executive that brings a wealth of experience as a player both professionally and internationally.
Kyle’s experience from the previous two world championships, 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics will provide consistency to our program...we look forward to his support as Brad and Jason build a staff and roster that gives us the best chance to be successful in Switzerland.
Kyle’s experience from the previous two world championships, 4 Nations Face-Off and Olympics will provide consistency to our program...we look forward to his support as Brad and Jason build a staff and roster that gives us the best chance to be successful in Switzerland.
The IIHF World Championships will take place in Switzerland starting on May 15th.
The irony of having Dubas and Treliving working together after all the turmoil from the Toronto situation could lead to a lot of tension but honestly, it could work out perfectly.
You have the analytical mind of Dubas and the up and comer Spezza who can help drive the data-drive results meanwhile Treliving has the experience and knows enough players from his time as GM to make good decisions.
Though they will need to work together and both parties need to not only be open to each other's demands but also compromise when necessary. Treliving likes big and bulky guys, Dubas likes smaller and finesse based players so it'll be interesting to see how they work with each other.
Why the Maple Leafs always attract the highest level of hockey executives in the country
There's something about being the one who can take a franchise who has disappointed for over half a century and turning things around. As much as it's not stated, the ego aspect comes into play heavily in Toronto.
Everyone wants to be the hero, and for GM's who want to either establish their name or prove they are still elite; the Maple Leafs are where it's at. But they also come with a lot of difficulties.
You have to deal with MLSE and Rogers, the fanbase is loyal to the point of fanaticism, and there's constant scrutiny from 50 people in the media after every decision or non-decision made.
But that pressure drives a lot of people and as we've seen from the latest GM search candidates, there are some big names who could come in and make a real difference.
You're looking at one of the hardest jobs in all of professional sports and all we can hope for is that whoever comes in thrives on that challenge — otherwise it's another decade of disappointing failures.
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John Tortorella just proved that Mitch Marner never actually blocked out the noise in Toronto
John Tortorella just proved that Mitch Marner never actually blocked out the noise in Toronto
Previously on Hockey Patrol