Pelley Fails to Justify Maple Leafs’ Polarizing Search Firm Choice

The Toronto Maple Leafs chose to hire Neil Glasberg’s Coaches Agency as the search firm tasked with narrowing down the field of possible GM and President of Hockey Ops candidates. The problem, according to some, is that Glasberg has a conflict of interest, seeing as he’s the agent for clients who could be in line for the job.

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As most news in Toronto stirs up debate, this topic received no shortage of coverage on Tuesday. NHL analysts weighed in, with many suggesting this could create a public-relations storm the Maple Leafs didn’t need. But, is it really that big a deal? Toronto Maple Leafs president and MLSE CEO Keith Pelley doesn’t think so.

Pelley Justifies Search Firm Hiring

According to TSN, Pelley is brushing off the comments that this decision is controversial. He’s downplaying any idea that Glasberg will ultimately have a strong say in who gets hired.

According to the post, Pelley is still talking to people and creating his own list of head of hockey ops candidates. That list will be combined with Glasberg’s list to create an eventual list of candidates, according to Darren Dreger.

Pelley said:

“But look, Glasberg has not been hired to influence this process. He’s been hired to bring in added value, if you will. Do some deeper investigating. Find out which candidate is the best fit. Why is this individual good at certain things? Why is he not so good at other things? So it’s just part of managing the search. That’s why this firm has been brought in to the fold.”

How Does This Reasoning Make Sense?

Pelley’s comments seem contradictory. The idea that he “won’t influence this process” but will “find out which candidate is the best fit” is paradoxical. What is Glasberg’s definition of best? If Pelley is listening to those recommendations, that’s influencing the process.

Glasberg’s list will include names that are under contract with NHL teams, some of whom are his clients. That alone creates a conflict of interest, even if he doesn’t “recommend” them as candidates. Then, when you factor in the fact it’s Glasberg’s job to recommend the candidates he feels make the most sense based upon the research Pelley confirmed the firm is doing, there are bound to be questions.

Why is Glasberg recommending or not recommending certain candidates?

Simple tasks, such as seeking permission from a club to speak to a candidate, will be handled by Pelley. That may have some asking, what does he need a search firm for?

The issue is trust. How much can the Leafs trust the research conducted by Glasberg and his agency? Any suggestion of influence toward his clients creates a conflict. There’s no way around that, even if Pelley says the findings won’t influence his decision. And, if that’s the case, and Pelley is going to make up his mind regardless of the findings, wouldn’t it have been better just to find a firm that didn’t represent coaches and NHL executives? There were plenty of them to choose from.

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