Hayley Wickenheiser announced on social media Thursday that she is no longer working with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The now former assistant general manager, player development, said in a post on Instagram that new Leafs general manager John Chayka “envisioned a different path” regarding her role.
“For the past eight seasons, it has been an incredible honor to work for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over the last few days, John Chayka and I had several discussions about my role moving forward. During those conversations, my expectation was that I would be in a position to continue to have a significant impact within the organization. However, it became clear that his leadership group envisioned a different path.
Since joining the club in 2018, I have been immensely proud of the work our player development team has accomplished. I want to sincerely thank the incredibly talented individuals, coaches, management, and players whom I have been fortunate enough to work alongside over the last eight years. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity, wish the team nothing but the best moving forward, and look forward to the next chapter."
The Leafs later confirmed departures from the organization, but did not name names.
“As part of our ongoing evaluation of the organization, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with some valued colleagues. These decisions were not easy and are not a reflection of the commitment of the impacted people. We are sincerely grateful for everything they have contributed to this organization and wish them nothing but the very best in the future,” Chayka said in a statement.
Wickenheiser, a four-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian women’s team, joined the Maple Leafs as assistant director of player development in 2018 and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2022.
She worked with prospects and spoke at the team’s development camp as recently as last week.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun reported that the Maple Leafs made more front office changes on Thursday, parting ways with assistant GM, hockey research and development Darryl Metcalf, director amateur scouting Mark Leach and senior advisor, player personnel Dave Morrison.
Chayka took over as general manager in early May after Brad Treliving was fired near the conclusion of the regular season.
The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons in 2025-26, finished 32-36-14 for 78 points – their lowest full-season total since 2015-16.
