Rumors about the Toronto Maple Leafs' alleged admiration for what the Boston Bruins did over the past calendar year spread like wildfire through the fanbase over the past week. With the Bruins going from the draft lottery to the playoffs in just one season, the Maple Leafs are now eyeing the same strategy for their organization.
During this season's training camp, the Bruins made a move universally loved by the fanbase: hiring franchise legend Zdeno Chara in an advisory role. It silenced any doubts about what was happening with the team's culture, set them up to retire his number this year, and brings good publicity whenever he is shown at TD Garden or seen talking to the players in the background of social media content.
The Maple Leafs are in a bad place with the way they are perceived around the league. Whether it's with other teams' fanbases, their own diehard fanbase, or other teams' executives, they need something that paints them in a positive light. It looks like Keith Pelley and the leadership at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment are attempting to make a move to do just that.
Maple Leafs' Bruins model starts with pursuit of former captain
The Maple Leafs finally received some positive publicity on Friday when news broke that the team was pursuing former captain Mats Sundin to serve as an advisor in their organization. While some questioned whether this was merely them trying to get some cheap cheers from the fanbase, it immediately struck me as interesting that just a week after rumors about Toronto looking to copy Boston's retool, they are making an identical move to the Bruins with Chara.
Mats Sundin is in Toronto to meet with the #leafs about a potential role in the new management structure, per sources
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 17, 2026
Sundin spent 13 seasons with the Leafs, 10 of them as captain. He retired as the team's all-time leader in goals and points, and was one of the most well-loved players in franchise history. While he didn't bring a Stanley Cup to the city, he was there for plenty of success and was the leader of an era that no captain has been able to replicate in Toronto since.
It could be a coincidence, but ironically, this move comes amidst all the noise about Toronto copying Boston. While Chara's hiring was nostalgic for fans, I think he would be the first to tell everyone that his hiring as an advisor didn't play a big role in the Bruins' turnaround. However, with Pelley's dive into the artificial intelligence space, it's quite possible that the computer saw what the Bruins did with their former captain and suggested something similar.
Add us as a preferred source on Google