It begins: Dubas reportedly looking to steal a number of executives in Leafs' front office

With the Maple Leafs hiring Brad Treliving as their new general manager, Pridham will remain as the team's Assistant General Manager, something he might no longer want to be with a promotion presumably available in Pittsburgh.

Pridham has worked side by side with Dubas since 2014-15. Pridham was the Special Assistant to the General Manager from 2014-15 to 2017-18, while Dubas was still an Assistant General Manager. When Dubas was promoted to General Manager in 2018-19, Pridham was also promoted to Assistant General Manager.

While Pridham is an option for the vacancy in Pittsburgh, there's belief that Dubas could be trying to pry other front office members from Toronto. Head scout, Wes Clark, and other analytical department members are reportedly on Dubas' wish-list.

One member that the Leafs don't want to lose is Laurence Gilman and he could be due for a larger role. Gilman was the Assistant General Manager in Toronto from 2018-19 to 2021-22, while also being the General Manager for the Toronto Marlies. In 2022-23, Gilman was promoted to Senior VP of Hockey Operations for the Marlies. He was somewhat marginalized in Toronto under Dubas - to a point where he wasn't even listed on the team's directory on their official website.

The biggest concern here is that many of these executives in Toronto may have out clauses built into their contracts that would allow them to vacate their positions in Toronto if a promotion became available elsewhere. If Treliving hopes to retain many of these employees who were loyal to Dubas, he'll likely have to win them over and sell them on his vision for the organization.