Ex-NHL GM reveals worrisome details about Maple Leafs' search before John Chayka hire
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Mike Gillis just reopened Toronto's front-office mess.
The former Canucks GM pulled back the curtain on the Maple Leafs' executive search, and his version didn't match the noise that followed his name for weeks.
«Most of the reporting was inaccurate around that piece,» Gillis said.
That line matters because Toronto's search was sold like a clean process.
Gillis made it sound like something much more tangled, with a different job in mind from the one the Leafs were actually shaping.
He didn't pitch himself as the everyday voice on the front lines. He pitched something bigger and more structural, with a long view on how the organization should be built.
«I've been pretty clear that I think there's a role for me in an organization, but it's a very specific one,» Gillis explained. «It's not that I wouldn't do it, but I don't really think that a really well-constructed organization, that guys my age should be on the front lines on a daily basis. That's my opinion.»
Toronto wanted one thing, Gillis wanted another
Gillis laid out what he believed he could do best: shape the people, the structure, and the thinking behind a front office instead of handling every daily move himself.
«There's a role that is highly constructive in how you go about things and how you structure things and how you think about things and the people that you put in certain chairs that are influential in your success,» he said. «I made it pretty clear early on that I thought that's where I would be best suited at this particular point in time.»
Once that role wasn't on the table, the process stopped being a fit.
«When the Toronto Maple Leafs weren't going to fill that role, it became apparent. So it wasn't the right fit,» he said.
«It just wasn't completely accurate,» he added.
He also confirmed Mats Sundin would have had a place in that setup.
«Most definitely, if he wanted to be,» Gillis replied.
That part tracks with how Gillis sees senior voices inside a room.
«Senior players that are just like Daniel and Henrik, have incredible integrity, are really well respected, are honest. They're going to do the right thing,» he said. «They provide very strong value in a chaotic organization those are the guys that invariably stand up and go, 'hold on a minute here. That's not what we're all about.'»
He even sketched the kind of role Toronto still doesn't seem to have.
«That would be their job when you have a meeting, they walk in and they go through every one of the opposition here's their weakness. This is what they're going to be looking for,» Gillis described. «How do we design our summer signings How do we go and get a piece necessary I don't see it anywhere. And that's a role that I think would be really fun.»
Toronto may have finished the search. Gillis just made it look a lot less tidy than it first appeared.
| POLL |
1 HOUR AGO | 44 ANSWERS Ex-NHL GM reveals worrisome details about Maple Leafs' search before John Chayka hire Did Mike Gillis expose a deeper problem in Toronto's front office search ? |
|
|
|
30 minutes ago | By Skyler Walker NHL player safety surprises fans with decision after Canadiens game 1 |
|
1 hour ago | By Skyler Walker Angela Price confirms Carey Price rumor that has Canadiens fans buzzing |
|
2 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau Avalanche fans are getting worried after new Cale Makar development surfaced |
|
2 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau What referees told Jakub Dobes during the crease altercation is going viral |
|
3 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau New details on Alex Ovechkin's retirement decision are suddenly emerging |
|
4 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau New details emerge regarding Arber Xhekaj's absence and the reason is surprising |
|
4 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau An insider just revealed the Oilers have already contacted a major coaching candidate |
|
5 hours ago | By Vincent Carbonneau Fans can't believe the controversial call on Demidov's goal |
