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Brian Burke expresses belief in Keith Pelley despite skepticism over process: ‘I believe in his guidance’
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Michael Coyle
May 13, 2026, 08:00 EDTUpdated: May 13, 2026, 01:59 EDT
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The noise surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs swayed last week when the club won the draft lottery, securing the right to the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. 
The day after John Chayka and Mats Sundin were introduced as the two men in charge of leading the Maple Leafs’ hockey operations room, the lottery balls fell in their favour, giving them the chance to select the player they believe can best help improve the team’s future.
On Tuesday, former Maple Leafs President and general manager Brian Burke joined Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill to discuss the hiring of Chayka and Sundin, who he would select at number one, and what he believes is going to happen with Craig Berube. 
The hiring of Chayka and Sundin was met with backlash from fans and media personnel. Chayka’s tenure with the Arizona Coyotes was turbulent, and Sundin has never worked in a front office before. Despite all this, Burke believes in the man who named these two in charge.
“I believe in Keith Pelley. I’m a friend, a fan of his, and I believe in his guidance. I believe he’ll figure this out,” Burke said. “I’m not sure I like the process or the choices they’ve made, but I’m going to leave that for now because I believe in Keith.” 
The next item on the Maple Leafs’ offseason to-do list will be deciding on who they select at number one overall. If Burke were in charge of the selection, the decision would be easy, given the current captain of the club. 
“I think they take [Gavin] McKenna. I think he’s better suited to play with Auston Matthews as opposed to Ivar Stenberg. He’s going to be really good too, a more complete player maybe, but McKenna can play with Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Easton Cowan,” Burke said. 
Following Brad Treliving’s firing on March 30, it felt like a foregone conclusion that head coach Craig Berube’s tenure would come to an end following the completion of the Maple Leafs’ season. Despite the poor record and lacklustre style of play on many nights, Berube remains with the organization. Burke touched on what he feels might happen with the Stanley Cup-winning head coach. 
“I think they’re going to look at everything. I think the easy thing is to make a coaching change,” Burke said. “Craig Berube is a good coach. He didn’t become stupid or a poor coach because they made some poor decisions. He’s a good coach.” 

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