The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken the next formal step in reshaping their front office. On Tuesday, the club officially hired Neil Glasberg and PBI Sports to lead the search for a new head of hockey operations.
Hearing Maple Leafs using Neil Glasberg and PBI Sports to search for Leafs new head of hockey operations.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) April 7, 2026
PBI was used to find execs in Vancouver, Anaheim and Philadelphia.
The move comes exactly eight days after MLSE President and CEO Keith Pelley fired General Manager Brad Treliving following a disappointing season that saw the Leafs fall to the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
Pelley emphasized that the new hire must be "data-centric," stating that "evidence-based decisions are never wrong". The firm is tasked with finding a "head of hockey operations." Pelley remains open to whether this individual will serve as both President and GM, or if the roles will be split. The goal is to have the new leadership in place by the NHL Scouting Combine in late May or, at the latest, the 2026 NHL Draft in late June.
In 2023, Frank Seravalli reported that figures around the league had concerns over conflict of interest issues relating to Glasberg’s representation of executive and coaching candidates he could potentially hire while running searches for teams in a separate capacity. At the time, he was running a search on behalf of the Philadelphia Flyers.
“There’s a reason why the NHLPA has a rule in place where agents are not allowed to represent both players and coaches or managers,” an NHL coach told Daily Faceoff at the time. “You can’t sit on both sides of the table. That’s not right.”
Both the Flyers and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Daily Faceoff at the time that they were aware of Glasberg’s clients and did not see any such issue.
As noted by The Athletic‘s Chris Johnston, Florida Panthers assistant general manager Sunny Mehta, seen by many as a strong fit and candidate for the job in Toronto, is a client of Glasberg’s. The Nashville Predators reportedly terminated a similar contract with a search firm earlier this spring (February 2026) following a review by the NHLPA into similar conflict-of-interest concerns.