Leafs make some changes to management and coaching staff

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that they have promoted Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser, Ryan Hardy and Darryl Metcalf to the roles of Assistant General Managers. They have also hired Curtis Sanford, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks, as Goaltending Coach.

Check it out:

From the Leafs' official press release announcement:

Wickenheiser will serve as Assistant General Manager, Player Development. Wickenheiser originally joined the club as Assistant Director of Player Development in August 2018 before she was promoted to Senior Director of Player Development in May 2021. As a player, Wickenheiser was inducted into both the Hockey Hall of Fame and the IIHF Hall of Fame after capturing seven World Championships and five Olympic medals.

Hardy will serve as Assistant General Manager, Minor League Operations. He was originally hired as Senior Director of Minor League Operations last June following three years as General Manager of the USHL's Chicago Steel. He was voted by his peers as the USHL's General Manager of the Year in two of his three seasons in Chicago.

Metcalf will serve as Assistant General Manager, Hockey Research and Development. He enters his ninth season with the Maple Leafs in 2022-23 after beginning his tenure as an Analyst with the Hockey Research and Development department in 2014. He was elevated to Director of Hockey Research and Development in 2016 before he was named Special Assistant to the General Manager in 2018.

Brandon Pridham will continue in his role as the primary Assistant General Manager with the Maple Leafs while Laurence Gilman will now serve as Governor and Senior Vice President of the Toronto Marlies, the club's American Hockey League affiliate.

Sanford joins the Maple Leafs following five seasons as Goaltending Coach with the AHL affiliates of the Vancouver Canucks, the Abbotsford Canucks (2021-22) and Utica Comets (2017-2021). Over the course of his professional playing career, Sanford spent time in the KHL, AHL and NHL, where he played 144 regular season games with St. Louis, Vancouver and Columbus.

In effect, the Leafs have just moved Wickenheiser, Metcalf and Pridham up the totem pole while Laurence Gilman, formerly the team's assistant GM, will move into a more senior role with the Leafs' AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies. As for Sanford, he can be credited with helping Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko rise to prominence and has worked closely with the team's AHL prospects the past few seasons.