Confirmed with Link: Brad Treliving named new GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs

[Antropovsky]

Why should a child be punished for their parents decisions. Also the leafs brought up the Marner salary due to their own incompetence. Leafs got marner to forfeit his rookie bonuses and then immediately gave Matthews his. The Marners were also pissed about how the organization handled the Babcock player ranking situation. Then he got demoted to fourth line. Just completely avoidable things organizationally that could have saved us a few million on his deal.

The more you dive into the situation the more you’ll realize Babcock’s actions really had an affect on all the RFA contract situations. Kyle should have fired that guy way earlier.

Boston players apparently despised Bruce Cassidy..... What did Stone say about Cassidy after winning the cup? He wanted to win as much as we did. Or something to that effect.

Maybe the problem wasn't that Babs was an ass&$%#, maybe it's the Leafs didn't want to win as bad as he does?

We all now are lucky enough to have hindsight to tell us how firing Babcock went for the Leafs.

 

[Antropovsky]

It was a bad time to go new coach hunting anyway, the obvious candidates were already hired by then

I may not love Keefe but he was the best of what was available at the time

Agreed.... A few reasons for Treliving to go with keefe:
1) There are no good coaches on the market right now (maybe waiting for Quenneville
2) waiting to fire your coach gives you an excuse of failure, kind of an ace in the hole for Treliving
3) Keefe was Dubas puppet and didn't necessary want to play the style they played

 

[Racer88]

Personally I don't think it's any more complicated than Treliving and Shanny simply like Keefe as a coach

That’s a depressing thought

 

[BallardEra]

Agreed.... A few reasons for Treliving to go with keefe:
1) There are no good coaches on the market right now (maybe waiting for Quenneville
2) waiting to fire your coach gives you an excuse of failure, kind of an ace in the hole for Treliving
3) Keefe was Dubas puppet and didn't necessary want to play the style they played

He should have been let go last year when guys like Cassidy, Trotz and a few others were readily available.

Keefe looks just like another "yes" man who will do whatever he is told to do by Shanahan.

He lost all respect in that room when he walked back his comments last season.

 

[francis246]

Boston players apparently despised Bruce Cassidy..... What did Stone say about Cassidy after winning the cup? He wanted to win as much as we did. Or something to that effect.

Maybe the problem wasn't that Babs was an ass&$%#, maybe it's the Leafs didn't want to win as bad as he does?

We all now are lucky enough to have hindsight to tell us how firing Babcock went for the Leafs.

Cassidy didn’t do nearly a quarter of things Babcock did. Babcock is an egocentric asshole. He loved to turn players against and play mind games with players. What he did to Marner who was just a kid at the time was so fcked up.

The problem was 100% Babs and he was purposely playing shittier players to try and teach our young skilled guys a lesson. There’s nothing wrong with be a tough coach and demanding but he went way over the line multiple times. Also there really hasn’t been players that have directly said anything about Cassidy. It’s all speculation. You have players who are adamant that Babcock is a piece of shit and will always take time to point that out. Not seeing that with Cassidy.

 

[Mess]

The Leafs not only have a total of 20 UFAs and RFAs to make decisions on, but they also have two very important contract extensions to negotiate with Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Believe it or not, one NHL insider says that while most might anticipate Matthews being the biggest hurdle for the Leafs this summer, it's actually the Nylander deal.

TSN's Darren Dreger made an appearance on TSN 1050's First Up this morning, joining hosts Aaron Korolnek and Carlo Colaiacovo to discuss the happenings around the league this weekend, with all of the trade talk. He also revealed why he believes the Nylander negotiations are potentially the most problematic scenario that the Leafs will face.

"I think the Nylander situation is maybe is a bit more complicated. With Matthews, when you get the term, you know what the money is going to be. It's going to be, essentially, whatever Auston Matthews says it's going to be. So, is that $13M? Is it $13.5M? Is it $14M? Like, what is that number?

What if William Nylander and his agent come back and say, 'well, we need $10M' or 'we need $10.5M', you know, the Marner, the Tavares-type money. What do you do in that scenario? So, a lot of work for the Maple Leafs general manager this week." - Dreger on Nylander being the biggest hurdle for the Leafs this summer, rather than Matthews.

Nylander's agent, Lewis Gross, is notorious for lengthy, grinding contract negotiations. We saw it last time around with Nylander, we saw it with Rasmus Sandin, and we saw it with another one of his clients, Johnny Gaudreau. If Gross intends to make this a rough ride for the Leafs this summer, there's a good chance that Brad Treliving learns from his past mistakes and simply cuts ties with Gross' client and trades William Nylander to the highest bidder.

 

[ULF_55]

Nylander's agent, Lewis Gross, is notorious for lengthy, grinding contract negotiations. We saw it last time around with Nylander, we saw it with Rasmus Sandin, and we saw it with another one of his clients, Johnny Gaudreau. If Gross intends to make this a rough ride for the Leafs this summer, there's a good chance that Brad Treliving learns from his past mistakes and simply cuts ties with Gross' client and trades William Nylander to the highest bidder.

Maybe he just accepts the Huberdeau deal?

 

[Mess]

Maybe he just accepts the Huberdeau deal?

In a sign and trade .. Where Leafs sign him to the deal getting the 8th year and then send Willy to his hometown team Flames. There are rumours circulating that Leafs and Flames are working on a potential trade.

Former Leafs Lunch host convinced that the Leafs and Flames are working on something​

Locked on Leafs discussed this possibility earlier today and Michael DiStefano was especially convinced that the Leafs and Flames either have something brewing now or will in the very near future. Here's what he had to say on the subject.

"The Calgary Flames, if they feel like they're in a situation where they got all these guys looking to move on, they gotta do a quick reset, retool, get picks, prospects, young players, whatever it may be. It might be a match made in heaven in a way. If there is one team out there that the Toronto Maple Leafs should be circling around like vultures, it's the Calgary Flames. That's not just because it's Brad Treliving's former club, but primarily because they are being forced to move several key roster players who no longer want to be around.

Obviously Brad Treliving and Craig Conroy have a terrific relationship from their time in Calgary so I truly believe there is something to be done here with the Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames. Whether it's Lindholm or it's Hanifin, I think there's a strong possibility that trade talks are happening currently and maybe something could get done prior to draft night."

The Leafs want a top-4 defenseman and Hanifin can fill that role. Elias Lindholm may be tougher to acquire because of his excellent two-way play and the fact that he plays a premium position at center. It's not nearly as tough to acquire a left shot defenseman. The Maple Leafs have a lot of pending UFAs of their own and not many roster players with term to ship out, but William Nylander's name will definitely be involved in these rumours if they persist, with Lindholm and Hanifin being the primary targets who could be moving the other way. The Leafs have a decent prospect pool as well and have some players that could entice Calgary alongside their late first round pick in the upcoming draft.

 

[TheScandal89]

In a sign and trade .. Where Leafs sign him to the deal getting the 8th year and then send Willy to his hometown team Flames. There are rumours circulating that Leafs and Flames are working on a potential trade.

Former Leafs Lunch host convinced that the Leafs and Flames are working on something​

Locked on Leafs discussed this possibility earlier today and Michael DiStefano was especially convinced that the Leafs and Flames either have something brewing now or will in the very near future. Here's what he had to say on the subject.

"The Calgary Flames, if they feel like they're in a situation where they got all these guys looking to move on, they gotta do a quick reset, retool, get picks, prospects, young players, whatever it may be. It might be a match made in heaven in a way. If there is one team out there that the Toronto Maple Leafs should be circling around like vultures, it's the Calgary Flames. That's not just because it's Brad Treliving's former club, but primarily because they are being forced to move several key roster players who no longer want to be around.

Obviously Brad Treliving and Craig Conroy have a terrific relationship from their time in Calgary so I truly believe there is something to be done here with the Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames. Whether it's Lindholm or it's Hanifin, I think there's a strong possibility that trade talks are happening currently and maybe something could get done prior to draft night."

The Leafs want a top-4 defenseman and Hanifin can fill that role. Elias Lindholm may be tougher to acquire because of his excellent two-way play and the fact that he plays a premium position at center. It's not nearly as tough to acquire a left shot defenseman. The Maple Leafs have a lot of pending UFAs of their own and not many roster players with term to ship out, but William Nylander's name will definitely be involved in these rumours if they persist, with Lindholm and Hanifin being the primary targets who could be moving the other way. The Leafs have a decent prospect pool as well and have some players that could entice Calgary alongside their late first round pick in the upcoming draft.

If Hanifin doesn't wanna play in Canada he won't be part of any deal. But maybe Rasmus Anderson? Idk if they'd be willing to part with him.

Maybe a blockbuster of

Nylander + Liljegren + 2023 Bos 1st
For
Lindholm + Andersen + Toffoli

Not sure what would need to be added cause it still favours us, but that fills a lot of holes. I doubt we have the cap space to pull it off either.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Here’s what Brad Treliving’s past says about the future of the Maple Leafs

Patient but aggressive. Shrewd, yet calculated. Treliving’s GM style was described as like “a dog on a bone” by one analyst who’s been in his shoes.

www.thestar.com

It’s not that new Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving wants to be in on every trade, but he gets into just about every trade conversation.

If a player is on the market, he just has to find out what’s going on. What’s the price? Who else might be available? Which other teams are serious? What are they willing to move? Are the teams that missed out still shopping? Could there be a trickle-down effect that helps his team?

These questions are likely to be asked in bunches as the Leafs enter the busiest week of the NHL off-season with the draft starting Wednesday night, followed by the start of free agency at noon Saturday.

There might not be an obvious fit for a trade with a Treliving team, but the former Calgary Flames GM — according to those who know him — leaves no stone unturned.

“The one thing I’ll tell you about Brad, he’s a dog on the bone,” said another former Flames GM, Craig Button, now TSN’s director of scouting. “He wants to improve the team in every regard. He’s always exploring.”

With Treliving now in charge of the Leafs, a team with plenty of holes to be filled and questions about roster makeup to be answered, there has been no rush to make moves or re-sign impending free agents. That’s another sign of the kind of GM he is: patient.

“Some managers are too cautious; some managers are too aggressive,” said Button.

Treliving appears to be the right balance of both.

“Ultimately, there’s really two types of managers,” says one-time Tampa Bay Lightning GM Brian Lawton, formerly an analyst on NHL Network. “There are the guys that are going to make three or four decisions a year, but in their minds they’re getting paid to make these three or four directional decisions. Then there are the guys that are going to be a lot more hands on, more of a doer, and still make those three or four decisions.

“I would say Brad is more of a doer because of his background. He’s going to be involved in things more. He’s going to have a lot more resources now."

“That doesn’t necessarily equate to success. It should improve your odds mathematically, but it doesn’t always work out that way. To me, it’s the guys that are doers also that tend to do better. That’s the kind of guy Brad is. He’s going to be involved. He’s not going to be in the ivory tower and directing everybody. He’s going to be out there in the field.”

Lawton compares Treliving’s approach to that of Doug Armstrong, whose St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019, with many crediting some shrewd trades and signings as well as building relationships.

“One thing I like about Brad is, I think that he’s got a really great macro view of the business,” said Lawton. “He’s been at it a long time. A little bit of Doug Armstrong in him, and I think very highly of Doug. I think Toronto thought very highly of Doug.”

The Leafs were believed to be interested in interviewing Armstrong for the job before awarding it to Treliving.

 

[ULF_55]

Kadri and Hanifin
for
Nylander and Brodie.

Not saying it is great, but Treliving obviously thought HE was worth it and I'd guess Flames would be okay to move on from him.

I don't like it.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Boston players apparently despised Bruce Cassidy..... What did Stone say about Cassidy after winning the cup? He wanted to win as much as we did. Or something to that effect.

Maybe the problem wasn't that Babs was an ass&$%#, maybe it's the Leafs didn't want to win as bad as he does?

We all now are lucky enough to have hindsight to tell us how firing Babcock went for the Leafs.

You’d figure if he wanted to win so badly he’d come up with more than one breakout option. The asshole who refers to himself in the third person stuff is fun to make fun of but it’s not an issue if the coach is actually.. good. None of his mind games worked either, and if anything the people he used them on were softer under him than in any other context. Matthews and Marner developed into two way forces blocking shots and started playing like Gud Pros(TM) after he left, Nylander always plays out of his mind on international teams.

 

[WTFMAN99]

You’d figure if he wanted to win so badly he’d come up with more than one breakout option. The asshole who refers to himself in the third person stuff is fun to make fun of but it’s not an issue if the coach is actually.. good.

He only got 1 cup out of Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg in their prime, what a fraud.

 

[Martin Skoula]

He only got 1 cup out of Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg in their prime, what a fraud.

2x Selke calibre PPG+ Cs
1x Selke calibre PPG 40g wing
Top-5 defense man of all time
2x more #1D
6’3 power forward that can go GPG in the playoffs
Don Cherry’s wet dream of a gritty Canadian bottom-6
Prospects that went on to be 70+ point guys on other teams like Filpulla, Hudler, etc

That Detroit team was deeper than the 10mil over the cap LTIR playoff teams we’ve seen recently.

 

[Antropovsky]

You’d figure if he wanted to win so badly he’d come up with more than one breakout option. The asshole who refers to himself in the third person stuff is fun to make fun of but it’s not an issue if the coach is actually.. good. None of his mind games worked either, and if anything the people he used them on were softer under him than in any other context. Matthews and Marner developed into two way forces blocking shots and started playing like Gud Pros(TM) after he left, Nylander always plays out of his mind on international teams.

This isn't true, Marner himself credited Babs for putting him in his doghouse and making him earn his minutes by playing responsible. Say what you want about Babs but his favorite players have always been ones who play both ends of the ice and dog the puck. That's why Hyman was his favorite player and Cleary before in Detroit.

Kadri also credited Babs for turning him into a 2 way player.

Look at Bozak, he ended up being a pretty damn good 2 way player.

Many players best seasons were under Babs. Reilly was a 20 goal 72 point player. Babs actually developed players. We have yet to see one player that we can say has improved or developed under Sheldon Keefe.

Columbus also just hired Babs....babs didn't even hit free agency as a coach and a team gobbled him up.

Shanahan played for Babs and he hired him. Babs was Team Canada coach. Etc etc.

 

[Martin Skoula]

This isn't true, Marner himself credited Babs for putting him in his doghouse and making him earn his minutes by playing responsible. Say what you want about Babs but his favorite players have always been ones who play both ends of the ice and dog the puck. That's why Hyman was his favorite player and Cleary before in Detroit.

Kadri also credited Babs for turning him into a 2 way player.

Look at Bozak, he ended up being a pretty damn good 2 way player.

Many players best seasons were under Babs. Reilly was a 20 goal 72 point player. Babs actually developed players. We have yet to see one player that we can say has improved or developed under Sheldon Keefe.

Columbus also just hired Babs....babs didn't even hit free agency as a coach and a team gobbled him up.

Shanahan played for Babs and he hired him. Babs was Team Canada coach. Etc etc.

Who did he develop? Quotes aside, who actually had their best seasons under him?

Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Hyman, Kadri all had their best seasons away from him. Despite having “build from the net out” Lou giving him his defense and goalie before DuMbAsS ruined both the goaltending and the defense, somehow he only managed to finish middle of the pack defensively at best. Oddly enough, as soon as he leaves and Dubas ruins our goaltending, our goals and shots against start improving.

It’s just strange how all these people that Babs “turns into two way players” never actually put up good two way results when they’re playing for him. I guess they just don’t know what they got till it’s gone and wait for him to be fired to implement all the wisdom he taught them.

Matthews, Nylander, Marner have the same season 3 times in a row under Babcock (ok, 2 for Marner before the 97 point run) = development.

Matthews goes from 50/85 paces to 65/110 pace with better D and physicality, Nylander turning into a 40/90 guy, Marner getting Selke nominations = not real development.

 

[Sypher04]

DuMbAsS ruined both the goaltending and the defense

The goaltending sure, but Dubas, for all his warts, very clearly improved the D even if stylistically they weren’t always what people wanted. The defense he had when he started was quite bad.

 

[Martin Skoula]

The goaltending sure, but Dubas, for all his warts, verily clear improved the D even if stylistically they weren’t always what people wanted. The defense he had when he started was quite bad.

I regret to inform you this is impossible, his predecessor said something about building from the net out once in the 1800s therefore his teams always have the best D and G.

It’s a weird narrative, if you ask why we’re tied for 6th in GA nobody wants to give credit to the D so they say it’s because the forwards back check and play team D so well. My question is why weren’t they doing that in front of the amazing Andersen? Seems strange to me that the forwards started playing good enough D to more than compensate for our worse G but never did that under the guy who taught them how to play a two way game.

 

[Sypher04]

I regret to inform you this is impossible, his predecessor said something about building from the net out once in the 1800s therefore his teams always have the best D and G.

It’s a weird narrative, if you ask why we’re tied for 6th in GA nobody wants to give credit to the D so they say it’s because the forwards back check and play team D so well. My question is why weren’t they doing that in front of the amazing Andersen? Seems strange to me that the forwards started playing good enough D to more than compensate for our worse G but never did that under the guy who taught them how to play a two way game.

I agree with you. I do think there are definitely system things we’ve done to improve defensively, but I was referring to D personnel in my post. The group Dubas inherited on the backend vs what he left behind was much worse. That being said it cost us a lot of draft capital

 

[Martin Skoula]

I agree with you. I do think there are definitely system things we’ve done to improve defensively, but I was referring to D personnel in my post. The group Dubas inherited on the backend vs what he left behind was much worse. That being said it cost us a lot of draft capital

Imo his biggest flaw was not going all-in on another Muzzin level guy. 2 2nds for Gio is halfway to another #2/3 minute muncher. Buying a 200$ pair of boots that’ll last you 10 years is better than buying a cheap 50$ pair of boots every year.

 

[Mess]

Kadri and Hanifin
for
Nylander and Brodie.

Not saying it is great, but Treliving obviously thought HE was worth it and I'd guess Flames would be okay to move on from him.

I don't like it.

Simply playing devils advocate for discussion purposes.

Treliving signed Kadri to

Naz was coming of a Stanley Cup (15 points in 16 games) & 87 points regular season.

Willy Nylander is coming off a current contract that pays him.

Nylander is coming of playoff season (10 points in 11 games) and 87 point regular season.

What if William Nylander and his agent come back and say, 'well, we need $10M' or 'we need $10.5M', you know, the Marner, the Tavares-type money. What do you do in that scenario? So, a lot of work for the Maple Leafs general manager this week." - Dreger on Nylander being the biggest hurdle for the Leafs this summer, rather than Matthews.

Would you rather have Kadri @ $7.0 mil AAV X 7 years (BT contract) now or Nylander at $10-10.5 mil X 7 years new (BT contract) or trade him for better value deal?

PS. Since stats are simlar the only consideration is age as Naz is 32 now and Willy will be 28 starting his new deal?

 

[IPS]

I regret to inform you this is impossible, his predecessor said something about building from the net out once in the 1800s therefore his teams always have the best D and G.

It’s a weird narrative, if you ask why we’re tied for 6th in GA nobody wants to give credit to the D so they say it’s because the forwards back check and play team D so well. My question is why weren’t they doing that in front of the amazing Andersen? Seems strange to me that the forwards started playing good enough D to more than compensate for our worse G but never did that under the guy who taught them how to play a two way game.

In the modern nhl you need your D to do more than just defend. I believe the leafs were among the lowest of scoring contributed by the D. A defense full of Holls and Brodies isnt gonna cut it.

 

[Antropovsky]

Who did he develop? Quotes aside, who actually had their best seasons under him?

Marner, Matthews, Nylander, Hyman, Kadri all had their best seasons away from him. Despite having “build from the net out” Lou giving him his defense and goalie before DuMbAsS ruined both the goaltending and the defense, somehow he only managed to finish middle of the pack defensively at best. Oddly enough, as soon as he leaves and Dubas ruins our goaltending, our goals and shots against start improving.

It’s just strange how all these people that Babs “turns into two way players” never actually put up good two way results when they’re playing for him. I guess they just don’t know what they got till it’s gone and wait for him to be fired to implement all the wisdom he taught them.

Matthews, Nylander, Marner have the same season 3 times in a row under Babcock (ok, 2 for Marner before the 97 point run) = development.

Matthews goes from 50/85 paces to 65/110 pace with better D and physicality, Nylander turning into a 40/90 guy, Marner getting Selke nominations = not real development.

Quotes aside? So don't listen to the actually players and let's just instead speculate?



Babs was a free agent for -1 month and he's got a job already. Say what you want, he gets results. Leafs were a non playoff team for one season and rose to success quickly under him, even with a dreadful defense.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Hey Mess,


who is this former Leaf's Lunch host spreading this rumor?

Bill Waters?

Stellick?

 

[hockeywiz542]

Hey Mess,

who is this former Leaf's Lunch host spreading this rumor?

Bill Waters?

Stellick?

@Ianturnedbull Michael DiStefano is the former Leafs Lunch co-host who is spreading this rumor.