How Treliving, Berube Fired Signals More Moves for Maple Leafs

Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has placed the blame for the team’s underwhelming season squarely on his own shoulders, citing a significant lack of buy-in throughout the organization.

While speaking with the crew from TSN OverDrive, Treliving did say that everyone shares in the struggles and they each get 33% of the pie (management, coaching, and the players), but because he was at the top, the buck stops with him.

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When asked what went wrong this past season and if he could explain why the team suffered such a noticeable drop-off, Treliving admitted there was a lack of commitment from the group. “There was a drop-off there, and we didn’t have the buy-in,” he said. “When you’re the manager, you take responsibility, so the responsibility is mine.”

Treliving refused to use injuries as a crutch, despite the Leafs losing key goaltenders during the season. “You can point to injuries and say we lost our goaltenders, but every team goes through injuries. To me, those are excuses,” he stated.

The former GM highlighted deeper underlying issues beyond the standings. Even in games Toronto won on the scoreboard, the team consistently failed to dictate play. “We weren’t controlling play, driving play, or winning the shot share,” Treliving explained. Those metrics suggested that once the club stopped getting lucky, or couldn’t follow up fortunate outcomes with strong performances, they would be in trouble.

Treliving understood that there would be inevitable fallout from a season that fell short of expectations in a market that demands success. “I loved every minute of my time there, but when you go through a season like that, there are consequences,” he said.

He’s now out of a job, the coach is out of a job, and there are talks that a good chunk of the underperforming players could be traded this offseason. With new management undertaking a review of where things went off the rails, there will be casualties. Look at Berube, who many thought was safe before he was interviewed by John Chayka and Mats Sundin. It wasn’t until after that interview that management decided to move on without him.

Expect the same thing to happen with the players. If management gets a vibe that they don’t like, trade chatter will surface. That could include names like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly. If those players share thoughts that don’t align with what new management is thinking, how long before they, or the issues they raise, are no longer with the team?

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