Lame-Duck GM? Maple Leafs Insider Foresees Change If This Happens

There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. For the first time in this era, quite frankly, making the playoffs is not a given, and as a result, how they’ll act ahead of the March 6 trade deadline — buy, sell, or both — remains completely up in the air amid the ever-changing standings.

Heading into Friday night’s game — the much-maligned return of Mitch Marner — the Maple Leafs sit three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand. On one hand, that’s ground that can easily be made up. On the other, they’re decimated by injuries, and the teams ahead of them just keep winning. All of it puts GM Brad Treliving in a very tough spot, and according to insider James Mirtle, his future with the organization could be riding on it.

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Mirtle discussed Toronto’s deadline plans on the JD Bunkis Show on Thursday, where he suggested that Treliving wouldn’t escape missing the playoffs unscathed.

Mirtle said:

“I think they’re going to end up being paralyzed and not doing a whole lot either way. I think they’re going to have a hard time selling or buying in the situation that they’re in. Especially because it’s a lame duck GM as well. You know, I don’t think Treliving survives if they miss the playoffs, so that puts them in a tough position,”

The 56-year-old Treliving took over as GM of the Maple Leafs in May of 2023, following the firing of Kyle Dubas after a nine-year stint running the Calgary Flames.

This Is Brad Treliving’s Team

As much as some fans may still want to point fingers at Dubas or Brendan Shanahan, Treliving has put his stamp on this team, and the roster as currently constructed is all his.

The vast majority of the key pieces — outside of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares, all of whom he also extended — were brought in by Treliving over the past two and a half years, and so far the results haven’t been much different from his predecessor.

If anything, they’ve been worse. Year three has already seen the Maple Leafs in a more precarious position than they’ve been at any point since drafting Matthews, and the roster is only getting older. Add in the lack of draft picks and high-end prospects, and there’s little flexibility to get younger or meaningfully improve.

Ultimately, it’s going to fall on the players on the ice to save Treliving. That would’ve been a tall task regardless, but when you factor in the injuries, it feels more like a mountain to climb — even with the standings still relatively tight.

Next: Maple Leafs Explored Several Mitch Marner Trade Scenarios Before His Exit