Leafs announce promotions and new goalie coach

[The Masters]

Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas announced today that the hockey club has promoted Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy and Darryl Metcalf to the roles of Assistant General Manager and hired Curtis Sanford as Goaltending Coach.
Wickenheiser will serve as Assistant General Manager, Player Development. Wickenheiser originally joined the club as Assistant Director of Player Development in August 2018 before she was promoted to Senior Director of Player Development in May 2021. As a player, Wickenheiser was inducted into both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame after capturing seven World Championships and five Olympic medals.
Hardy will serve as Assistant General Manager, Minor League Operations. He was originally hired as Senior Director of Minor League Operations last June following three years as General Manager of the USHL's Chicago Steel. He was voted by his peers as the USHL's General Manager of the Year in two of his three seasons in Chicago.
Metcalf will serve as Assistant General Manager, Hockey Research and Development. He enters his ninth season with the Maple Leafs in 2022-23 after beginning his tenure as an Analyst with the Hockey Research and Development department in 2014. He was elevated to Director of Hockey Research and Development in 2016 before he was named Special Assistant to the General Manager in 2018.
Brandon Pridham will continue in his role as the primary Assistant General Manager with the Maple Leafs while Laurence Gilman will now serve as Governor and Senior Vice President of the Toronto Marlies, the club's American Hockey League affiliate.
Sanford joins the Maple Leafs following five seasons as Goaltending Coach with the AHL affiliates of the Vancouver Canucks, the Abbotsford Canucks (2021-22) and Utica Comets (2017-2021). Over the course of his professional playing career, Sanford spent time in the KHL, AHL and NHL, where he played 144 regular season games with St. Louis, Vancouver and Columbus.

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[Morgs]

Good for the Leafs promoting Wickenheiser. Her and Granato now are the two highest ranking females for NHL teams. Love that we're part of it.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Do we have five assistant GMs now?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Good for the Leafs promoting Wickenheiser. Her and Granato now are the two highest ranking females for NHL teams. Love that we're part of it.

Seems mostly like a title change TBH. No team has 4 AGM's and the Leafs just decided to give each head of their respective departments AGM titles instead of "Director" titles.

Do we have five assistant GMs now?

Gilman is no longer an AGM.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Do we have five assistant GMs now?

Four. Gilman is Governor and VP of the Marlies

Pridman is still the actual AGM, the others just got fancier titles to head their departments.

 

[Morgs]

Seems mostly like a title change TBH. No team has 4 AGM's and the Leafs just decided to give each head of their respective departments AGM titles instead of "Director" titles.

Don't be this guy. It's a big day for women in sports and we should appreciate we're part of an organization like this.

 

[Buds17]

(Hopefully) Good to see that the goalie coach spent some time in the NHL.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

Great to see Wickenheiser working her way up the ranks in the organization. Nice to see the likes of her and Spezza learning the ropes as part of the Leafs organization.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Don't be this guy. It's a big day for a woman in sports and we should appreciate we're part of an organization like this.

I don't exactly see how I am "that guy". She was already in a fairly lofty position as it was, just like Hardy and Metcalf, but they decided to change the titles for them to AGM.

I doubt anything changes for her other than that. Her promotion last year was more significant and momentous.

 

[Rob Brown]

Do we have five assistant GMs now?

Lol yeah was wondering that as well. Not sure why we need so many 'assistants'. Surely there is a better title out there based on what they are doing with the management group.

 

[ACC1224]

Great to see Wickenheiser working her way up the ranks in the organization. Nice to see the likes of her and Spezza learning the ropes as part of the Leafs organization.

What is Spezza's title?

 

[Apex Predator]

Four. Gilman is Governor and VP of the Marlies

Pridman is still the actual AGM, the others just got fancier titles to head their departments.

Assistant to the GM

 

[Morgs]

Four. Gilman is Governor and VP of the Marlies

Pridman is still the actual AGM, the others just got fancier titles to head their departments.

This is whats being speculated. Basically like how an organization has different VP's under the president and they manage specifically one part of the organization:

Pridham - Cap & NHL management
Hardy - AHL management
Wick - Player development
Metcalf* - Research/analytics

Something along those lines.

 

[TheTotalPackage]

What is Spezza's title?

Special assistant to the GM.

Dubas said he'll be learning as much as he can about everything, and a year from now they will decide what he enjoyed most to start focusing on as an expertise.

 

[ACC1224]

Special assistant to the GM.

Dubas said he'll be learning as much as he can about everything, and a year from now they will decide what he enjoyed most to start focusing on as an expertise.

Thanks

 

[BertCorbeau]

Please fix this mess Sanford

Have to think he factors in big time to the goaltending situation the Leafs have

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Nice to see everyone get a pay raise .. always helps in a very tough inflation/interest rate life we live now .. congrats to Hawley well deserved

 

[francis246]

What is Spezza's title?

Special Assistant to the GM. He has the same role Vinny Lecavalier has in MTL

 

[Gary Nylund]

Lol yeah was wondering that as well. Not sure why we need so many 'assistants'. Surely there is a better title out there based on what they are doing with the management group.

Executive Management Engineer?

Seriously though, all this seems like a bunch of mostly uninteresting fluff except for the new goalie coach. Anyone know anything about him?

 

[acrobaticgoalie]

Glad to see a former NHLer as a goalie coach. Not sure what his experience has been with coaching since his playing days though. Is Toivonen still with the organization?

 

[DopeyFish]

i think sanford was coaching abbotsford canucks goalies this last year?

(apparently he's been their goalie coach for 5 years, 2 years abbotsford and 3 years utica)

 

[Frostitute]

Spezza be like

 

[TribalPhoenix]

LOL... ok, this is just ridiculous. They're not AGM's. This is just PR-based nonsense. If their job doesn't change, the title shouldn't change.

Free raises for everyone! And far be it from Kyle not to have a woman AGM; she's the most qualified of the bunch without question, but it just dilutes things to have it as part of a mass promotion.

Lots of lobster and Dom Perignon in the boardroom at lunch today!

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

It might have been good to bring in a proven NHL goalie coach, but hopefully Stanford is good enough. It just doesn't seem like the Leafs enjoy bringing in people with strong track records

 

[Community]

LOL... ok, this is just ridiculous. They're not AGM's. This is just PR-based nonsense. If their job doesn't change, the title shouldn't change.

Free raises for everyone! And far be it from Kyle not to have a woman AGM; she's the most qualified of the bunch without question, but it just dilutes things to have it as part of a mass promotion.

Lots of lobster and Dom Perignon in the boardroom at lunch today!

That's one opinion on it... I think it would be worse to have a separate announcement for Wickenheiser just because she's female.

This way they're treated as equals instead of Wickenheiser being paraded around to gain positive PR.