Raising questions over AI’s influence on Keith Pelley as Maple Leafs search for next GM

The role of Artificial Intelligence for the Leafs' next general manager will be large, but the less said by CEO the better.

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Published Apr 15, 2026  •  2 minute read

Keith Pelley, President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, addresses media at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on March 31, 2026, following the firing of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

The use of Artificial Intelligence and the recent data boom are likely to be a big part of the Maple Leafs’ general manager search.

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They just need the new top person or someone other than Keith Pelley to help explain it better.

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Pelley, the CEO of Maple Leaf Sport and Entertainment, has been in the news since bringing up analytics as a high priority for a new head of hockey operations.

His level of meddling received more attention on Tuesday when a story in The Athletic reported he took the bold step of attending the team’s pre-NHL deadline meetings last month, armed with in-house AI figures on possible deals and offering strong opinions.

The optics wouldn’t have looked good and indeed Pelley fired GM Brad Treliving a few weeks later after the latter attempted to recoup his losses from earlier trades, settling for diminished draft returns.

But it raises questions of what autonomy the incoming hockey boss will have (Pelley had previously ousted president Brendan Shanahan) and how much Pelley is pushing the AI agenda.

He continues to target late May to name Treliving’s successor, the 14th Toronto GM since Punch Imlach most recently won a Stanley Cup in 1967 — before the scouting combine and draft.

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A source quoted in the story said fans would’ve been surprised by how much a non-hockey person such as Pelley was involved that day.

Pelley declined a Postmedia request for comment on the Athletic story through an MLSE spokesperson.

How much does AI influence Pelley?

Pelley’s infatuation with AI comes from the many resources MLSE poured into its own lab as part of the worldwide trend. It has shaped the rebuild of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and Major League Soccer’s TFC, MLSE’s other key properties.

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But hockey has its own dynamic where analytics and AI are interpreted as a blessing and a curse. The failure of ‘fancy stats’ to improve the Leafs during the acid test of playoffs under proponent Kyle Dubas’ five years as GM created much doubt and resistance outside of Scotiabank Arena, and likely inside through the eye test some scouts prefer.

At his rather peculiar press conference following Treliving’s dismissal, Pelley freely talked of Eric Tulsky’s modern approach to data as a chemistry/physics-trained GM of the Carolina Hurricanes, before asking permission from Florida to speak to its poker specialist/data-scientist assistant GM Sunny Mehta.

It will be much better hearing an expert sell its merits and, better yet, get results on the ice.

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