Maple Leafs could quickly regret moving on from Brandon Pridham

"Announced by the team on Sunday morning, they have mututally parted ways with assistant general managers Brandon Pridham and Derek Clancey. And frankly, letting Pridham leave the team could be something they regret fairly soon."

"Brandon Pridham was first hired in 2014 as a special assistant to the general manager in the same summer that Kyle Dubas was originally hired as assistant general manager. He quickly rose up, taking Dubas's assistant general manager job when the now Penguins general manager got promoted in 2018, and has held that role since."

"The main thing that Pridham brought to the table was extensive knowledge of the NHL's CBA and how he can manipulate the salary cap for the Leafs to benefit from it and squeeze every single penny. Toronto was one of the first teams to constantly be sending players back down to the AHL throughout the season so then by the trade deadline, it would cumulate to a sizeable about of cap space, so they they can acquire a higher tier of players."

"Basically, Pridham -- who also helped write previous editions of the CBA for the NHL, by the way -- was able to be so good at his job that the league needed to address something he started doing and taking advantage of loopholes. That is a mind that has been so valuable for Toronto"

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka has made multiple staff changes shortly after firing head coach Craig Berube. The team announced that assistant general managers Brandon Pridham and Derek Clancey have mutually parted ways with the organization. Pridham had been with the Maple Leafs for 12 seasons, hired in 2014 as a special assistant to the general manager and later promoted to assistant general manager in 2018. His role centered on deep knowledge of the NHL collective bargaining agreement and using salary-cap mechanisms to benefit Toronto. The team frequently sent players to the AHL during the season to build cap space by the trade deadline. A new CBA now bans that practice, requiring players to play at least one AHL game before returning to the NHL.

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