New Leafs GM is the son of longtime "Dragons' Den" star

The Toronto Maple Leafs finally have their own nepo baby in charge.

On Wednesday, the Leafs made the hiring of Brad Treliving official as their 18th general manager in team history, who replaces the recently fired Kyle Dubas after five seasons in charge.

“I am very excited and honoured to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as general manager,” said Treliving in a statement. “I would like to thank [Leafs president] Brendan [Shanahan], MLSE and its Board for their support throughout this process. I’m thrilled to join an Original Six team and recognize how much the Maple Leafs mean to this community. This is a very exciting day for my family and I.”

Treliving spent nine years as the Calgary Flames general manager before being let go following the team’s failure to make the playoffs this season.

But while “NHL general manager” is usually the highest level of success anyone could expect in their family, it’s quite the competition in the Treliving household.

Fans of CBC’s Dragons’ Den would be familiar with Brad’s father, business tycoon and Boston Pizza owner Jim Treliving, who was on the Canadian version of the show from its first season in 2006 through 2021.

“Jim maintains his philosophy of investing in people and has a keen eye for the next big deal. Both his financial commitments and ongoing support has allowed him to be very successful with a number of deals completed through the show,” his website bio reads.

Companies that Treliving partnered with from Dragons’ Den include Steeped Tea, Velofix, Enriched Academy, Frogbox, Easy Daysies, Curatio, Kids Can Cook Gourmet, Custom Tattoo Design, Shnarped, Holiday Rejects, Hope Blooms, and Tuxy, per his website.

The elder Treliving garnered much of his business success by owning the popular chain restaurant, which he acquired in 1983 and has since expanded the franchise to over 380 locations.

Maybe we’ll see Brad cooking up a few trades in the kitchen at one of Toronto’s Boston Pizza locations, the closest of which to Scotiabank Arena is at the intersection of Front and John Street, just across the street from the Rogers Centre.

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