Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving met with the media Tuesday morning press conference of the quarter. He spoke to reporters for 18 minutes, but in that short time frame there was some pretty important information.
Related: 3 Maple Leafs players who could be moved in a roster-for-roster trade
He spoke about a few important topics, such as the future of the head coach, injuries, depth and the overall state of the team. So let’s dive right in.
Treliving takes responsibility for a bad start
It’s not every day that a general manager of the most talked about hockey team meets the media and takes full responsibility for how poorly his team has played. But we did on Tuesday. Leafs Nation tuned in expecting to hear about upcoming changes, but instead they heard: “We’re not where we want to be,” Treliving said in a flat and serious tone. “We have underperformed. I take responsibility. I am in charge of the hockey department. I have put the people in their place.”
It has been a struggle for the Maple Leafs since the start of the season. This is a team coming off a year where they won the Atlantic Division title, and now they’re in the bottom ten of the league. The toughest part of their battle involves their first-round pick in the upcoming draft. They don’t have it because of the trade with the Boston Bruins for Brandon Carlo. It was protected in the top five, so there’s a chance they could get it back, but that would mean finishing in the bottom five. The only silver lining? A better shot at Gavin McKenna.
Treliving puts his trust in Berube
Another big topic in the Toronto market was whether head coach Craig Berube was in the right place. According to Treliving, he has full confidence in Berube, at least for this season. Treliving said: “Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight. When you go through tough times it’s easy to get rid of the coach. The most important thing is not to point fingers and get into trouble together. I have all the confidence in the world in him.”
Related: Stecher’s waiver claim draws attention from Oilers and Maple Leafs fan bases
It’s pretty clear it’s not about Berube. It could be as simple as a personnel issue, meaning it’s up to Treliving to figure out what needs to change to become a winning hockey club again. At this point, we know the Maple Leafs are exploring a roster-for-roster trade, but that’s about it. What we do know is that you shouldn’t expect Berube to be fired anytime soon.
Treliving speaks of injuries and depth
Since taking over, Treliving has used some unique words to describe his team. First there was “snot”something he wanted to add to the line-up. And on Tuesday he used ‘vanilla’. He said, “There’s been too much vanilla. If you’re doing well… you have a pretty good idea what it’s going to look like from night to night. A big part of the frustration is not knowing what it’s going to look like.” Unfortunately, they are not playing well, and a lot of that may have to do with the sheer number of injuries they have had.
There are currently seven NHL regulars on the injury list: Auston Matthews, Brandon Carlo, Chris Tanev, Scott Laughton, Anthony Stolarz, Matthew Knies and Nicolas Roy. If you look at that list, these are some of their best players. That’s a huge loss. It’s one of the main reasons why they’re struggling. Furthermore, their depth players haven’t produced much at all. The lack of offense from the bottom of the lineup has hurt them, which goes back to why the Maple Leafs are eyeing a roster-for-roster trade. They want to get rid of some depth players who don’t fit and bring in players who can help change the culture. Treliving summed it up by saying, “You have to be patient in this job. But patience is not inaction.”
#Treliving #takes #responsibility #Maple #Leafs #poor #start #Hockey #Writers #Toronto #Maple #Leafs #Latest #news #analysis