The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially made Brad Treliving the franchise’s next General Manager.
President Brendan Shanahan made it clear that he was looking to replace former GM Kyle Dubas with an experienced GM in Toronto, and Brad Treliving fits the bill after spending the past 9 seasons as the GM of the Calgary Flames.
While Treliving may have experience dealing with a difficult Canadian market, he’s now taking the helm of the most scrutinized franchise in the NHL. One that is seemingly in the midst of a major transition period. He will have to get to work quickly to appease the fanbase and compose a roster that is better positioned for postseason success after continuously making early playoff exits.
Brad Treliving has been named the club’s General Manager
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 31, 2023
Although he has many player based decisions to make, his first priority should be to make a decision on the coaching staff. Head coach Sheldon Keefe is under contract for another 2 seasons, but his inability to lead the team further into the playoffs has led many pundits to question if he is in fact the right man for the job. He reportedly has a good relationship with the stars of the team, but was part of the Dubas group, so there’s a possibility that Treliving would want to make a change and hire his own coach for the position.
Treliving’s last head coach hiring probably led to the end of his tenure in Calgary, as he and Darryl Sutter didn’t see eye to eye this past season in Calgary as Sutter was unable to get the team into a playoff position. Perhaps this will cause Treliving to wait to assess the coaching situation before making a final decision on Keefe’s future. The Leafs organization have yet to come out and state any support of Keefe’s future with the organization, so getting that aspect settled is an immediate need – particularly as other organizations have already begun signing the top coaching prospects to fill their respective vacancies.
Manipulating the roster will be Treliving’s toughest challenge this offseason. The team has been built – for better or for worse – around the “core 4.” Most organizations would love to have 4 supremely talented forwards on the roster, but the contract situations and the lack of playoff success are now looking cumbersome as Treliving navigates what the franchises next moves should be.
John Tavares would be the ideal candidate to be moved, as while he provides the team with a steady calming presence, his performance on the ice has dropped significantly since he entered his 30’s, and the $11 million cap hit is certainly hampering the team’s budget. Unfortunately, Kyle Dubas wanted to make a statement in his early years as GM of the Leafs, and gave Tavares a full no movement clause in his contract to convince him to leave Long Island to come to Toronto. Tavares, as is well within his rights, has made it clear that he will be playing out the final 2 years of his contract in Toronto, so Treliving will have to manipulate the roster around that contract.
The Leafs are also entering this season with Auston Matthews and William Nylander set to play in the final year of their respective deals as well.
As of July 1st, Matthews’ full no trade clause kicks in, giving him full leverage in contract negotiations with the team going forward. Matthews is a top 10 player in the league and would benefit financially from continuing to be a star in the Toronto market, but he realistically has no incentive to sign a long term extension until after the July 1st deadline. Treliving must work quickly to gauge Matthews’ interest in signing with the team long term.
Treliving tried to slow play contract negotiations with Johnny Gaudreau during the 2021-2022 season, and with the team in playoff contention as the trade deadline approached, he opted to hold on to the player instead of trading him for assets. Gaudreau walked away in free agency, setting the team back, and ultimately contributing towards the firing of Treliving. He cannot repeat that scenario, so signing Matthews, or making the incredibly difficult decision to move him will have to be done in short order.
While signing Matthews seems like a no brainer, and the club having no option to move Tavares, if Treliving wants to shake up the roster all signs point towards moving on from either Mitch Marner or William Nylander.
Marner, who is up for the Selke after an impressive regular season, has 2 years left on his contract but has yet to step up in the playoffs, accruing the majority of his playoff points in the first handful of games before essentially disappearing in the 2nd round. Nylander was more of a consistent factor throughout the playoffs, but after being a proverbial whipping boy for the majority of his tenure in Toronto and already having tough contract negotiations with the club, Treliving will have to gauge what his interest is in staying with the team long term. Moving one of these high value players before their contracts run out would help the club restock future assets and would definitely help replenish depth within the organization, but would probably lead to the club taking a step back for the immediate future, which is a tough pill to swallow in the Toronto market.
Beyond the core 4, the Leafs remaining roster is entering a season of turnover with 10 NHL contributors entering free agency this offseason. They’ll need to find a way to sign more depth in their bottom 6, as well as potentially finding a proper #2 centerman, in one of the weakest free agency classes in recent memory. The club is also short on draft picks after being extremely active at the trade deadline, so despite holding the Bruins first round pick, finding replacements through the draft seems unlikely. They seem to be tied to their defensive core, for better or for worse, so unless a Marner or Nylander trade yields them a key defensive piece, you can expect them to roll back with the same contributors in 2023/2024.
Another huge question mark for the Leafs is in goal. One of Dubas’s most questionable moves was made last offseason as he acquired Matt Murray from the Sens. Although Ottawa retained some salary, he’s still scheduled to count for $5.6 million against the cap this coming season. Treliving will have to weigh either buying out Murray outright, or attaching assets to him in a trade to an organization that’s looking to reach the cap floor. Either way it’s largely a no win situation. After his disastrous season in Toronto, it’s hard to see how the team can bring him back for another year.
The signing of Ilya Samsonov worked out well for the Leafs as the 26 year old goalie showed promise as a true #1, despite dealing with some injury issues. He’s entering this season as a RFA, so evaluating what his value is will be another important decision for Treliving. If the Leafs can get him re-signed at a reasonable number and enter the season with him and 24 year old Joseph Woll as a 1A and 1B, they’ll be in good shape in goal not only for this season, but for multiple campaigns going forward.
With the NHL draft only 4 weeks away, Treliving is joining a team that’s in dire need of evaluation from top to bottom, and the Leafs faithful will be hoping that he’s learned from prior mistakes in Calgary.
Although in hindsight the moves didn’t pan out in year 1, his work last offseason to trade Matthew Tkachuk for both Jonathan Hubredeau and MacKenzie Weegar was praised as he was able to make the best out of a bad situation with Tkachuk clearly making it clear he was not going to re-sign with the club. With the possibility of the Leafs facing the same type of situation this offseason, Treliving’s trade history and ability to lure free agents gives the Toronto faithful hope that he will be able to guide the club out of a tough situation.
-Devon Gallant
Twitter: @DevGallant
Photo: Adam Bishop. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.