Maple Leafs fire Nonis, Horachek in massive organizational shakeup
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager Dave Nonis and interim head coach Peter Horachek, along with many members of the team's coaching and scouting staff in a sweeping restructuring of the organization.
Assistant coaches Steve Spott, Chris Dennis and Rick St. Croix were also relieved of their duties. Steve Staois will stay on as manager of player development.
While the club searches for a new general manager, assistant GM Kyle Dubas and director of player personnel Mark Hunter will share the responsibilities.
Related: A timeline of Dave Nonis's tenure with the Maple Leafs
Sportsnet's Damien Cox reported Saturday night that the Leafs' management team met with Nonis to discuss his future, and that Horachek was likely to be let go.
Toronto finished with the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 30-44-8. They went 9-28-5 in 42 games under Horachek, who was named interim head coach following the firing of Randy Carlyle in January.
The Maple Leafs went 94-97-21 in 212 games with Nonis at the helm after hiring him in January 2013 following the dismissal of Brian Burke. Nonis had two years remaining on his contract.
The former GM surprised the hockey world by trading David Clarkson and his contract to the Columbus Blue Jackets for injured forward Nathan Horton on Feb. 26.
The Leafs gave Clarkson a seven-year, $36.75 million deal in the summer of 2013 and inked captain Dion Phaneuf to a seven-year deal at the end of the same year.
The Maple Leafs' front office purge also includes director of pro scouting Steve Kasper and director of player development Jim Hughes.
Eighteen of the team's scouts are expected to be fired, according to Sportsnet's Damien Cox.