Brad Treliving is doing a great job.

[All Mod Cons]

It looks like he's passing all the tests.

An Atlantic Division win for the first time in a quarter of a century would be nice.

Playoffs are the real indicator though. If he can win a round he would've equaled the accomplishments of the greatest GM we've ever had, in only his 2nd season.

 

[DarkKnight]

Every person covering this team says they’re different, not just personnel, but the way we play. They all agree, because it’s beyond obvious to any non drooling Leafs fan.

 

[Antropovsky]

I had my doubts when we first hired him, and it took a little bit to untangle the crappy soft culture that Dubas developed but Tree has done great. Dubas did us all a favor by his shady negotiating with Shanahan.

 

[All Mod Cons]

Really really happy with the job he's done

Now cones the real test.

 

[IPS]

Brad Treliving put a complete team together

Cannot wait for the mental gymnastics from the James Tanner for days types pn here if this team goes deep. Ohhh the novels upon novels that will be posted.

 

[francis246]

He’s build a team that will be able to compete in the playoffs and most of all he hired a coach that is capable of motivating these guys. Berube has his warts but I think these guys are willing to run through a wall for him and you have to credit Brad for figuring out for the season.

Let’s see if we can get that playoff success

 

[fancy lad]

He’s vastly improved the defensive side. Goalie and defencemen have been upgraded. There’s no denying that.

He’s also upgraded the bottom 6 forwards. Yeah I think he’s passed the test.

 

[Puckstuff]

He’s vastly improved the defensive side. Goalie and defencemen have been upgraded. There’s no denying that.

He’s also upgraded the bottom 6 forwards. Yeah I think he’s passed the test.

Basically traded Bertuzzi and spare parts for:

Tanev @4.5
OEL @3.5
Carlo @3.5
Stolarz @ 2.5
Berube
Lorentz @ under 1.0

That's like 10+ million in surplus value and includes a #1 goalie at 2.5 m. Incredible work. Even if we flame out, it's hard to deny he's done all the right things to give this core group a chance.

 

[MCR74]

We won the division. Anyone predict that last summer?

 

[1specter]

We won the division. Anyone predict that last summer?

There are a few hardcore Dubas guys still (I'm sure you know which ones) who will still point to the team regressing because they didn't put up as many points as the 2022 or 2023 teams did, ignoring that there is far more parity this year in the league with the Atlantic also being a deeper division. The 2022 Leafs would be first overall in the NHL this season. The 2022 Leafs also finished fourth in the league - guess where the 2025 Leafs currently are?

 

[Evilhomer]

We won the division. Anyone predict that last summer?

Hold my beer, please.

 

[ToneDog]

Tre has done in 2 attempts, what Dubas could not do in 4. Win the Atlantic and he has turned a soft, team not built for playoff hockey into a team team built for playoff hockey. Stolarz may not give up another goal behind a healthy Leafs D assembled by Tre (something Dubas can only dream about).

If the core that Dubas bet everything on grows some balls and scores like they are paid to do, they can go far with Tre's G and D.

 

[Jojalu]

Fellas, don’t entertain notbias. He’s quite clearly a Dubasite. Kyle Dumbass was quite easily the most piss poor pathetic GM this team has ever had and it’s taken us some time to recover from the damage he did. Our team looks much better and balanced under Tre and I look forward to watching Tre continue to improve our club.

Dubas was not their worst GM. Not really even close.

Wasn't the right guy at the time but he built some pretty good teams.

They were not ever able to get over the hump, and hopefully this year they do but building a team that is always going to get 100 points is in no way bad

 

[TheDoldrums]

Yes it’s easier to win the Atlantic when teams like Boston and Florida aren’t running away with the Presidents trophy.

You can praise the good things Tre has done without seeming incapable of understanding context. It’s like political ads in here lol.

 

[IPS]

Yes it’s easier to win the Atlantic when teams like Boston and Florida aren’t running away with the Presidents trophy.

You can praise the good things Tre has done without seeming incapable of understanding context. It’s like political ads in here lol.

Likely just a counter culture thing to the amount of praise Dubas’ teams got

 

[tuckerintensity]

It's really difficult at times, because I do think he is with some things. He's added a good mix of players (even though contracts may not age well) that have helped significantly in areas (namely defense). On the other hand, we have the Domi contract, we have Reaves, we have how he's handed both the Willie and Marner contract negotiations. And at the heart of it all, we're basically the same team as pre-Treliving. And at the end of it, we played really good hockey against really good teams down the stretch (and all year), won the division, and don't have to go through the usual suspects in round one.

We'll see what happens now that everything is set for the spring. I don't love the Ottawa matchup, but it's still a team we should roll pretty easily (noting that no team is that easy in the playoffs).

 

[All Mod Cons]

Yes it’s easier to win the Atlantic when teams like Boston and Florida aren’t running away with the Presidents trophy.

You can praise the good things Tre has done without seeming incapable of understanding context. It’s like political ads in here lol.

I just like the fact that we seem to be more trust the results, rather than trust the process now.

Lots of fans have been crying out for a team more in line with what we have now. Tougher, play bigger, play less expansive, fight, block shots, clearing the front of the net, show willingness etc. etc

Tre has worked wonders in his two seasons so far. Plucking guys like Stolarz, Lorentz, OEL, Tanev, Benoit for nothing. Trading for Carlo.

It's just been good stuff after good stuff.

 

[Mess]

Yes it’s easier to win the Atlantic when teams like Boston and Florida aren’t running away with the Presidents trophy.

You can praise the good things Tre has done without seeming incapable of understanding context. It’s like political ads in here lol.

Good point about context ..

Florida wins the Atlantic and the Stanley Cup in 2023-24..

Treliving goes out and signs their 2nd goalie Stolarz after recording 2.03 GAA and .925 SV%.

Stolarz as a Leaf new Starter puts up a sparking 2.14 GAA and .926 SV% as Leafs win the Atlantic.

Stolarz 3rd in GAA and 1st in save% in 2024-25 ahead of Vasilevski and Bobrovski

What a surprise when you get among the league leading goaltending and it propels you to the top of the division?

Thanks BT for understanding goaltending matters. in team success.

 

[Tak7]

The real test starts now.
I can't shake off my skepticism of him / the team, but winning the division is a huge feather in his cap.
To get a favorable matchup out of it is just added bonus.

 

[IPS]

Good point about context ..

Florida wins the Atlantic and the Stanley Cup in 2023-24..

Treliving goes out and signs their 2nd goalie Stolarz after recording 2.03 GAA and .925 SV%.

View attachment 1015190

Stolarz as a Leaf new Starter puts up a sparking 2.14 GAA and .926 SV% as Leafs win the Atlantic.

View attachment 1015199

Stolarz 3rd in GAA and 1st in save% in 2024-25 ahead of Vasilevski and Bobrovski

View attachment 1015208

View attachment 1015216

What a surprise when you get among the league leading goaltending and it propels you to the top of the division?

Thanks BT for understanding goaltending matters. in team success.

Going from a GM that doesn't know the first thing about finding goalies to a GM who promptly found a hidden gem elite goalie who leads the league in SV% is a pretty wild swing.

Maybe instead of being the team getting "goalie'd" in playoff series and making excuses for losing we can finally be on the other side of it!

 

[leafs in five]

Cannot wait for the mental gymnastics from the James Tanner for days types pn here if this team goes deep. Ohhh the novels upon novels that will be posted.

a deep run by this group would prove basically every regular contributor on here wrong in one way or another

 

[leafs in five]

I would dispute also that the GM "plucked" Tanev and OEL "for nothing" but whatever, kudos to him, let's do this, playoffs, rock over London rock on Toronto, death to America

 

[Mess]

Likely just a counter culture thing to the amount of praise Dubas’ teams got

I for one don't miss the Clueless Dubas years in TO.

Remember when this was the Goaltending pile of Crap that was suppose to lead us to success?

Garret Sparks
Michael Hutchinson
Kasimir Kaskisuo
Jack Campbell
David Rittich
Petr Mrazek
Erik Kallgren
Matt Murray
Ilya Samsonov​

Fortunately Lou Lam drafted us Joseph Woll and Treliving went out and got us a REAL goaltender in Stolarz who finished #3 in GAA and #1 in SV% and #4 in GSA/e (after being the backup on a Stanley Cup winning Florida).

Now Leafs have a real serious opportunity not only to win the division, but compete for the Stanley Cup

 

[Gary Nylund]

Basically traded Bertuzzi and spare parts for:

Tanev @4.5
OEL @3.5
Carlo @3.5
Stolarz @ 2.5
Berube
Lorentz @ under 1.0

That's like 10+ million in surplus value and includes a #1 goalie at 2.5 m. Incredible work. Even if we flame out, it's hard to deny he's done all the right things to give this core group a chance.

Not quite as simple as that. He also added Laughton, and I wouldn't call the two first round picks along with Minten he traded as spare parts. Great work though, the way the team is playing lately I don't see how anyone could say otherwise.

 

[Leafsfan74]

Good point about context ..

Florida wins the Atlantic and the Stanley Cup in 2023-24..

Treliving goes out and signs their 2nd goalie Stolarz after recording 2.03 GAA and .925 SV%.

View attachment 1015190

Stolarz as a Leaf new Starter puts up a sparking 2.14 GAA and .926 SV% as Leafs win the Atlantic.

View attachment 1015199

Stolarz 3rd in GAA and 1st in save% in 2024-25 ahead of Vasilevski and Bobrovski

View attachment 1015208

View attachment 1015216

What a surprise when you get among the league leading goaltending and it propels you to the top of the division?

Thanks BT for understanding goaltending matters. in team success.

The best aspect of this teams configuration is that either goalie can step in and shut a team down. Much of this has to do with the team defense, especially the last month or so. They have strong stick work and ability to eliminate lanes from the opponent. Both goalies do their job as one cog in the machine.

Stolarz will start but the team has confidence in both goalies for justified reasons.

I've said it again, defense wins championships. Brad picked up players I didn't consider which he deserves credit for. If the Leafs falter again, fans should have complete confidence he can allocate the Cap space well:

OEL: I didn't realize that this guy has game. He plays the game with commitment. A pleasant surprise.

Tanev: Far better than anyone could have expected. A legitimate shut down D Man that all Cup teams need. When he and McCabe are partnered they are going against the oppositions top lines and they quietly shut then down. For me he's the MVP this regular season

Lorentz: Full of energy and commitment to the forecheck. He will be an unsung hero on a team that wins, get a couple of key goals on a run. Yesterday I think was his 5th Game Winner out of 8 goals. No garbage points all season

Stolarz: Who saw the season he was going to have? Who had him on their radar for pick up? No one.

Carlo: One of those sleeper pick ups I instantly liked. Solidifies the back end and Reilly has played some of his best hockey with him this year. It's akin to picking up 1.5 players in one trade.

Laughton: Had perhaps his best game last night and if he can play in that manner, driving the net, getting to pucks, laying out the body against a guy (a full follow-through body check) who took a shot at him earlier in the game. As long as one doesn't do something stupid, a message is sent. You can tell he wants to win and he will have an impact this playoffs if he plays as he did last night.


Brad picked up some Gamers and it seems obvious to me that the core know it. Certainly Matthews and JT look more serious than any prior season.

I promised I wouldn't gaslight myself so this playoffs will either confirm what we see or confirm what we should have learned to accept.