Brad Treliving says Maple Leafs lacked buy-in in first remarks
brad treliving said the Maple Leafs lacked buy-in during a season that ended without a playoff berth for the first time since 2016. Speaking publicly for the first time since he was dismissed late in the season, the former general manager said Toronto’s record did not match the team it had on paper.
Toronto Maple Leafs season
Treliving said injuries and the loss of the goaltenders at the start of the year were excuses. “I certainly think that you can look at and say there were injuries, and at the beginning of the year, we had lost the goaltenders. But everybody goes through injuries. To me, those are excuses. There was a fall off there,” he said Wednesday on TSN’s OverDrive.
He added, “We didn’t have the buy-in.” That lined up with his broader view of the season. “Listen, we just didn’t get it done. At the end of the day, you can sit here, and there are all sorts of reasons. It was a little bit of a death by a thousand cuts. I don’t think our record was indicative of the type of team we had there. We saw what the team was able to accomplish the year before.”
Craig Berube and the changes
Treliving also addressed Craig Berube after both were moved on from by Toronto. He called Berube a close friend and said they were on the same page throughout their two years together in Toronto. “It was sad to see things happen there. But we all know the business. Craig has been around and has been in this game a long time. He understands that when you go through a season like that — and specifically when there is change in the regime — those things happen,” Treliving said.
He was even clearer on Berube’s future. “Craig will do well. He will be fine. He has had a long career in the league. That relationship will always be a strong one between him and me,” he said. Toronto hired John Chayka earlier this month, then dismissed Berube a few days later.
Morgan Rielly’s future
Treliving also defended Morgan Rielly, who had 11 goals and 36 points in 78 games last season while averaging 21:08 of ice time and finishing minus-18. Treliving named him to Team Canada at the World Hockey Championship and said, “I still think there is a lot of game there.”
On Rielly’s future in Toronto, Treliving pointed to the defenceman’s contract and his place in the room. “Listen, he has been there a long time. There is a heaviness that goes with it. He is a guy who feels a real responsibility in Toronto. No question, in the last couple of years, he would probably be the first to tell you that it hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but I still think there is a lot of game left in Morgan,” he said. “As you get older, you have to do different things in terms of your conditioning level and how you take care of yourself. You even see it here. When you get him around a different environment, he has been really solid,” Treliving added.
Rielly also has a full no-move clause, which gives Toronto less flexibility if the roster is renovated this summer. For fans watching the summer reshuffle, that makes Treliving’s comments more than a farewell tour: they are a direct read on which veterans he still believes can carry value into the next phase.
