The Toronto Maple Leafs are a messy bunch. The group has been chasing a playoff streak for the previous 19 years.
Lastly, underneath the course of common supervisor Kyle Dubas, the franchise earned its ticket to the second spherical. Slightly than honor the architect’s imaginative and prescient of him, the Toronto Maple Leafs fired him and changed him with Brad Treliving.
If Leafs followers have been scratching their heads after they despatched Dubas packing, they could not have any extra hair to scratch after the primary day of NHL free company on July 1.
Might Treliving nonetheless be a double agent secretly working for the Calgary Flames? As absurd as it might sound, it appears to be the one clarification for his starting of his tenure as the brand new GM of the Maple Leafs.
Toronto Maple Leafs’ new GM needs to be a double agent
Let’s begin with the Easton Cowan draft and the Toronto decide. He was ranked within the NHL Central Scout 51st finest North American skater. Cowen was chosen within the third spherical of our mock draft. Treliving handed Ethan Gauthier, who had 30 objectives and 39 assists for the Sherbrooke Phoenix within the QMJHL. Treliving additionally had an opportunity to take a defender in Michael Kulayev, however he caught Cowan in an enormous manner as an alternative.
At worst, if the Leafs knew they needed the London Knights’ proper wing, they need to have switched to get it. Toronto may have simply gotten a few second-round picks in trade for his or her first-round decide. That may have allowed Treliving to take Cowan nearer to the place he was anticipated to be and develop different younger expertise.
The NHL bonanza on July 1 was even worse for the Leafs. Whereas different groups have been fast to select highly-skilled gamers to assist their staff rating or defend, Treliving did nothing. As an alternative, he added Ryan Reaves, a 36-year-old powerful man who provides the staff sandpaper.
Though Reaves is a legal responsibility on protection, the Toronto Maple Leafs will discover a place for him on their roster. The issue is that that is his first line of enterprise as an alternative of making an attempt to retain a participant like Michael Bunting. Reaves is the kind of participant a staff ought to signal final and may’t construct a roster round.
If Treliving continues to be secretly working for the Flames, he’ll completely attempt to make it straightforward for groups to attain on the Leafs. One of the simplest ways to do that is to signal a defender who has a tough time defending. Cue John Klingberg. Treliving signed a one-year deal price $41.15 million.
Regardless of all of the errors made, the Toronto Maple Leafs have taken a step in a optimistic course. Treliving signed lefty Tyler Bertuzzi to a one-year deal for $5.5 million. Maybe, that is Treliving’s try to cover his true loyalty, or alternatively, he’s really doing the whole lot he can to assist the Leafs win.
Time will inform what Treliving’s legacy will convey. Hopefully, he received’t commerce Auston Matthews or get caught bugging the Flames on the Leafs’ workplaces.
- Posted on 07/05/2023 at 10:00
- Final replace on 07/05/2023 at 10:00
