Even before a single question was asked, Treliving was off to a slow start after making some significant changes to the squad last season.
“I would like to open it by saying that as we sit here today, we are clearly not where we want to be or where we envision ourselves to be. We have underperformed thus far and I take full responsibility. I am in charge of the hockey department.” Treliving told the media present. “I put people in their place, on the ice, off the ice. So the responsibility is on me, and we start today and every day by trying to get ourselves back on our feet and improve on where we are.”
Remember, the Treliving left Mitch Marner in the summer. It seemed like in Marner’s mind he already left the Maple Leafs two summers ago, but wanted to give it another go and not waive his no-trade clause until the deal with the Vegas Golden Knights came together.
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Treliving tried to get it Mikko Rantanen last year, which further changed the team’s dynamic, but nothing could be worked out. So when Marner was gone, he brought him in Nicholas Roy, Matthias Maccelli, Scott Laughton (trade deadline), Brandon Carlo (deadline), and Dakota Joshua.
The Leafs have also evolved from a quality player David Kampfwhich the Maple Leafs were unable to use this season for some reason. However, he was effective at it Craig Berube’s system from last year.
While Brad Treliving re-signed and won the negotiations Anthony Stolarz, Johannes TavaresAnd Matthew Kniesthe team is still underperforming on the ice. He again challenged the players to be better on the ice, knowing they are capable of more.
Similar to how John Tortorella challenged the highly skilled players he coached. He knew their potential, and when they underperformed, he was disappointed because Tortorella knew those players had more to give.
This seems to be a trend for the Toronto maple leaves. Head coach Craig Berube called on his players for their efforts on the ice. In addition, goalkeeper Anthony Stolarz also called out the team for their efforts after an overtime loss against the Seattle Kraken.
Once again the general manager talks about the commitment to play the right way and deliver that message every day. Just because it happened last year doesn’t mean it will happen this year.
“For me, it’s just a commitment to do the work, right? That’s really what it comes down to: a plan is not another plan. Treliving said. Just because you’ve done it, like I said last year, you have to commit to the work. And for me, that’s a big part of it. The style we want to play is a hard style, but unless you commit to the work, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. And that’s where I see a small disadvantage: doing it together. You do your job so I can do my job, and then you dive into the hard parts of the game. And we have now lost weight there.”
When it comes down to it, the Maple Leafs are just too one-dimensional right now, or as Treliving noted, they’re “vanilla.” He can count on one hand how many complete games the team has played this season. And that’s the big key to success: playing defense the right way, the way head coach Craig Berube wants them to play. It led them to Game 7 of Round 2 against the Florida Panthers last year.
But once again, Brad Treliving changed the team’s identity, similar to what Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito did with the Jonathan Huberdeau And MacKenzie Weegar for Matthew Tkachuk. It took the players some time to get used to Paul Maurice’s system. And in year two, with an identity change and new player signings, the team is struggling.
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But the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t just going to make a move just to make a move. At the same time, they want to improve all aspects of their team, but as reported, Brad Treliving wants to make selection moves. But they are not there.
And a coaching change is out of the question. Several times, Brad Treliving gave his head coach, Craig Berube, a vote of confidence.
“We have full confidence in our coach at the moment, so I don’t see that as a problem. Treliving said. Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight. I think when you go through tough times it’s easy – and it’s normal – that you start to put down the coach, the manager, whoever. But Craig and his staff are working hard on it, and I have all the support and confidence in the world.”
While it was interesting timing for Brad Treliving to hold this press conference, the message was clear: it’s up to the players to figure out how to play a more connected game. Not just the core of the team that was there and failed in the playoffs, but also the new guys that have come in.
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