The Toronto Maple Leafs are not done adding to their front office. After hiring John Chayka as general manager and Mats Sundin as an executive senior advisor in a major dual-threat move to send this team in a new direction, the Leafs are poaching one of the top NHL Draft minds in the league.
Judd Brackett has reportedly left the Minnesota Wild organization after spending the last five seasons as their Director of Amateur Scouting. It was originally reported by The Athletic's Michael Russo, and then Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman added later on Sunday morning that the Maple Leafs are one team who has been granted permission by the Wild to interview him.
And it appears that Brackett is going to be a new assistant general manager for the team.
Toronto is one of the teams that has permission to talk to Brackett...would be for an AGM position if it closes https://t.co/0yOdWmhYvp
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 31, 2026
Brackett also spent the five years before joining the Wild, as the Vancouver Canucks' Director of Amateur Scouting, where he first earned his reputation as a mastermind at the draft table who got the most out of mid-to-late-round selections.
And for even more certainty that Brackett is heading to Toronto, on Twitter, Canucks insider Rick Dhaliwal clarified that Brackett is obviously not returning to Vancouver and that it is indeed the Leafs who are hiring him.
Judd Brackett adds a whole lot of value to the Leafs front office
Over his years being in charge of the draft table for both the Canucks and the Wild, there have been significant decisions made and organization-shifting picks selected. Pulling off something like the quick trade up with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2024 to nab top defenseman prospect Zeev Buium, who was the key piece in the Quinn Hughes trade. Or even trading up for Jesper Wallstedt in 2021.
There have been some misses of course, but considering the only top 10 selection he got to make with the Wild was in 2020, where he got Marco Rossi (who was also a main piece in the Hughes trade with Vancouver), Brackett has made the most out of regularly selecting in the second half of the first round.
Players like Liam Ohgren, Charlie Stramel, and Danila Yurov highlight potentially getting everyday NHLers in those picks that matter. And even in the second round, players like Marat Khusnutdinov, Ryder Ritchie, and Riley Heidt, were all seen as potential steals from the public scouts. Or even most recently getting OHL standout Adam Benak in the fourth round just last year could be a steal that many talk about in the coming years.
No one hits on every pick, but Brackett has a large sample size of getting NHL talent throughout the Draft and the Leafs can use that more than ever.
Whether this team goes towards more of a rebuild and loads up on draft picks for Brackett to be a kid in a candy store; or if the Leafs continue to regularly have five or fewer selections available because they traded picks away for NHL talent, Brackett will be an asset no matter what.
The Maple Leafs still do have Mark Leach, who was brought on as Director of Amateur Scouting in 2024, to run their Draft. But, having Brackett there to potentially tag team this effort -- if Brackett is even allowed to weigh in on the Draft since he'll be privy to the Wild's own draft board -- with Leach is still a benefit.
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