Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Jason Spezza have been appointed to lead Canada’s management team at the upcoming world hockey championship, as announced by Hockey Canada on Monday. Joining them in a support role will be Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, who will also be focusing on the NHL playoff series. Additionally, Hockey Canada’s senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations, Scott Salmond, will provide support to the team.
Treliving, who was relieved of his duties with the Maple Leafs in late March after his third season with the team, will be taking on his first management role since then. He previously served as the general manager of the Calgary Flames for nine seasons and was part of Canada’s gold-winning team at the 2016 world championship.
Spezza, currently in his third season as assistant GM with the Penguins, will make his international management debut. As a former player for Team Canada, Spezza participated in four world championships, securing one gold (2015) and two silver medals (2008, 2009). He also earned one silver (2002) and two bronze medals (2000, 2001) while representing Canada at the world junior championship.
Hockey Canada’s Scott Salmond expressed confidence in the newly appointed management team, highlighting Treliving’s international and NHL experience, as well as Spezza’s extensive background as a player, both professionally and internationally.
The world championship will kick off in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Fribourg, with Canada facing Sweden in their opening match on May 15. Canada boasts an impressive record at the tournament, having won 23 gold medals and a total of 53 medals overall. Their most recent gold medal victory was in 2023 in Tampere, Finland and Riga, Latvia. Last year, Canada finished in fifth place after a surprising 2-1 loss to Denmark in the quarterfinals.