Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Treliving, Other NHL Jobs Filled

The Toronto Maple Leafs filled their vacant GM job pretty quickly as they brought in Brad Treliving from Calgary on Wednesday.

The former Flames GM will be introduced to the Toronto media on Thursday.

Treliving walked away from Calgary following this season and appeared to be the likeliest target for Brendan Shanahan after he let Kyle Dubas go not long after the Florida Panthers knocked the Leafs out of the playoffs.

Dubas appears to be in line for the vacant Penguins GM job.

Matthew Tkachuk, whom asked out of Calgary and was traded to the Panthers by Treliving, is a fan and sent him a text congratulating him on the new gig.

The Nashville Predators officially announced the hiring of former Florida interim coach Andrew Brunette as their new bench boss after he spent this past season with the Devils.

Brunette was an original member of the expansion Predators, scoring their first goal in franchise history.

“I am super excited to be back in Nashville and a part of the Predators organization,” Brunette said in a statement. “I feel like this is coming full circle for my career – from pulling on the jersey for the first time 25 years ago to returning now to take care of some unfinished business.

“It has been awesome to see how this city and its fanbase have grown since I played here and I look forward to continuing the legacy and the culture behind the bench that Barry cultivated that inaugural season.”

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

The Panthers’ power play was not doing a whole lot of anything early on against the Hurricanes.

And then it did everything. The Panthers got three game-winning goals off their power play in Games 2-4 as players and coaches worked on a remedy that worked.

— The Panthers are having a blast right now and Paul Maurice is here for all of it.

— Florida is playing the Vegas Golden Knights and helped build them into a team which has made the playoffs in five of their six seasons. Former Panthers Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, players the Panthers gave up at the 2017 expansion draft, have been a big part of Vegas’ success.

— Gus Forsling has been one of Florida’s unsung heroes during this run to the Cup Final and he had a big hand in beating the Hurricanes — the team which waived him in 2021 allowing the panthers to snap him up.

— Patric Hornqvist has not played for the Panthers since December but he is doing everything he can to help his team reach that ultimate goal.

”I am happy, so glad we are in this position right now,’’ Hornqvist said. “To be through that journey, for me, is so special. I feel spoiled to be part of it one more time.”

— The Panthers have another odd postgame ritual during these playoffs. It involves a rawhide dog chew. It is apparently not tasty, either.

— Now we know Pete DeBoer will be rooting for his longtime friend Paul Maurice in the Cup Final after the Stars got the boot from the Knights on Monday night.

— Is this too much time off for the Panthers?

— There is a TON of video is up on the FHN YouTube Channel including Game 4 postgame reaction from Paul Maurice, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matthew Tkachuk, Anton Lundell, Sasha Barkov and Aaron Ekblad.

There will also be plenty of off-day video coming as we work our way through the week.

To see all the videos, you can click the embedded videos below or head directly to the FHN YouTube Channel RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place.

If you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NHL NEWS/NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

With Brunette off the market, who will the Columbus Blue Jackets hire?

What about Patrick Roy?

— Pete DeBoer was very classy in defeat as the former Vegas Golden Knights coach said there are a number of players there who deserve to win the Stanley Cup.

— Vegas Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy felt he needed to apologize to the Arizona Coyotes.

— Speaking about Vegas, their social media folks trolled the San Jose Sharks.

— If Dubas is going to take the Pittsburgh Penguins job, he needs to get a move on.

— The Washington Capitals found their coach in Spencer Carbery.

FLORIDA PANTHERS ON DECK

THE 2023 STANLEY CUP FINAL

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

GAME 1

• When: Saturday, 8 p.m.
• Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
• TV: TNT
  
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM, WPOW 96.5 FM2, WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Series Schedule — Game 1: Saturday at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 2: Monday June 5 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 3: Thursday June 8 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 4: Saturday June 10 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 5*: Tuesday June 13 at Vegas, 8 (TNT); Game 6*: Friday June 16 at Florida, 8 (TNT); Game 7*: Monday June 19 at Vegas, 8 (TNT). * – If Necessary
• 2022-23 Regular Season Series Vs. Vegas (Even 1-1): @Vegas 4, Florida 2 (Jan. 12); @Florida 2, Vegas 1 (March 7)
• All-time Regular Season Series: vs. Vegas Golden Knights lead 6-3-1
• Postseason History: First meeting
• How They Got Here — Vegas: d. Winnipeg in 5, Edmonton in 6, Dallas in 6; Florida: d. Boston in 7, Toronto in 5, Carolina in 4.