News Article: NHL Front Office Confidence Rankings (Leafs 30th)

[The Masters]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1820855876569206801

Last year: 27th

“Treliving deserves credit for trying a taskmaster coach and rolling the dice on an efficient Stolarz/Woll combo. But when you look at last year’s puzzling trade deadline acquisitions on a win-now team and some of the last two years of free agency decisions, it’s hard to think the roster that can get 100-plus points blindfolded is being given its best chance for success.”

“Overall, while the Shanahan/Treliving duo has been far from disastrous, it has proven underwhelming. A few diamonds in the rough, a few misses for sure, but more or less the same strategy of the previous regime.”

A lot of the league’s top contenders are where they are thanks in large part to savvy management. They maximize and optimize their team’s chances, giving their club the best shot to win that they can.

At the start of the Shanaplan, it certainly felt like the Leafs were one of those teams. It’s getting harder and harder to feel like Toronto is on the cutting edge given the lackluster playoff results over the last decade and some of the decisions made to get there. A lot of what the Leafs do feels safe, boring and bland. It’s as if the decisions are made via a focus group to minimize risk — hit a few singles instead of swinging for the fences.

That’s felt true regardless of who has been beneath Brendan Shanahan as GM and it’s led to a lot of lost confidence across the fan base over the last two years.

To Brad Treliving’s credit, his work this summer felt like an improvement over last summer, but his overall tenure has still felt mixed at best. Winning a round or two would do a lot to raise confidence, but the Leafs have clearly worn out a lot of patience.

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[Ianturnedbull]

It's no reflection of Treliving. There's only one name with mud on his face.

 

[Menzinger]

I think it's fair to say in some ways.

it's been a very chaotic year and a bit for the front office and they're on the cusp of having to make one of the bigger franchise decisions in recent years and there's so far not a hint of which way they're leaning.

It's no reflection of Treliving. There's only one name with mud on his face.

What the team does (or doesn't do) with Marner and Tavares lies with him as well.

 

[hamzarocks]

30th is probably a bit too low

I'd take us ahead of Pens, Flames, Sens, Sharks (Grier hasnt shown anything yet besides dealing out players to tank), Blackhawks, and maybe Oilers depending on how much freedom Bowman gets

We are definately bottom 7 or 8 with how bad Shanahan has been and Treliving being below avg this summer signing a #4 & 5D to 6 and 4 year deals

 

[The Masters]

Shanahan is finished. Did a terrible job. There's no vision anymore. I fully expect him gone by season's end and Pelley will have to find a replacement. Treliving could be gone too if Pelley wants to fully clean house and hire his guy.

 

[PROUD PAPA]

Pretty hard to argue with that ranking. The way the team has stagnated is hard, if not impossible, to overlook. I haven't spoken to 1 single Leaf fan this summer that is excited or even optimistic about the near future. Not a single one.

 

[IPS]

Montreal at 6th? What's Montreal doing that's making them one of the best managed teams in the league?

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

26-32, but most of the blame goes to Shanahan. Treliving hasn't been here long enough and the majority of the most damaging screw-ups were from Dubas and Lou. Shanahan has been the one though that has held on to this core and has overseen all the missteps. Losing in round one 7/8 years and only getting 5 games into the second round is not the mark of a well run team.

 

[notbias]

It's no reflection of Treliving. There's only one name with mud on his face.

It dropped because of a GM who has not been with the team for the entire time between the two ratings?

It makes perfect sense, carry on.

26-32, but most of the blame goes to Shanahan. Treliving hasn't been here long enough and the majority of the most damaging screw-ups were from Dubas and Lou. Shanahan has been the one though that has held on to this core and has overseen all the missteps. Losing in round one 7/8 years and only getting 5 games into the second round is not the mark of a well run team.

Treliving has spent over $50 million of our cap space, is that not enough to make changes?

 

[Nineteen67]

Only Ottawa and Buffalo are worse. They were bad under Dubas and somehow managed to get worse.

 

[Leafidelity]

Maybe a little too low, but not too far off​

​

I think 21-25 is fair​

 

[conFABulator]

To say you have confidence in Treliving would be ridiculous. He hasn't been here long enough to see the results of his decisions. His track record prior to TO was not confidence inspiring.

So far, the good...

- Bertuzzi and Domi on one year deals
- Not signing Samsonov for more than one year
- Signing Benoit
- Drafting Cowan
- Not trading futures at the TDL
- Moving out Keefe and co.
- Resigning Domi at a decent deal and term
- Matthews re-sign
- Handling last year of Murray's deal

The Bad..

- Klingberg

The Remains to be Seen...

- Nylander contract
- Tanev, OEL, Stolarz
- Danford
- Hakanpaa
- Woll extension
- Letting Bertuzzi walk
- How he handles Marner and Tavares, so far so good

I guess when I put it that way, only one bad move so far but this off-season and Nylander will be what he is measured on

 

[RomanianLeafs]

No offense but these rankings are awful, there are at least 6 7 teams in the first 15 who just tank year after year and havent seen the playoffs...like how is Arizona 4th??? All they did until this summer was selling players and acquiring dead cap...dito for Sharks and Chicago...also Sabres and Sens ahead??? For what???

 

[notbias]

To say you have confidence in Treliving would be ridiculous. He hasn't been here long enough to see the results of his decisions. His track record prior to TO was not confidence inspiring.

So far, the good...

- Bertuzzi and Domi on one year deals

Bertuzzi was wasted cap

- Not signing Samsonov for more than one year

Signing to one year was bad

- Signing Benoit

Agreed

- Drafting Cowan

Just lost the scout who drafted him

- Not trading futures at the TDL

Traded 6 picks

- Moving out Keefe and co.

You can say it is good but the season hasn't happened yet

- Resigning Domi at a decent deal and term

Agreed

- Matthews re-sign

Agreed

- Handling last year of Murray's deal

Agreed, although not sure how much was him vs actually needing surgery, not sure many players opt for surgery for fun.

The Bad..

- Klingberg

Can add Reaves to this, his deadline acquisitions and then overpaying every NHL tweener

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Treliving has spent over $50 million of our cap space, is that not enough to make changes?

It's enough but we haven't seen his moves play out. Hard to really judge him when his body of work consists of one season where he was thrust into the role on short notice because our President and former GM had a falling out at the worst possible time.

 

[Stephen]

I’m as pessimistic about the Toronto Maple Leafs as the next guy but this ranking has lost the plot.

We’re a disappointing team on the basis of trying to get to a championship level, and the roster is boring and stale as an entertainment product. At their worst team’s cruise control is probably better than 18-20 teams in the league.

This ranking is just The Athletic group think, a lot of hyperbolic Leafs clickbait and a not too subtle way to take shots at Brendan Shanahan.

 

[conFABulator]

Bertuzzi was wasted cap



Signing to one year was bad



Agreed



Just lost the scout who drafted him



Traded 6 picks



You can say it is good but the season hasn't happened yet



Agreed



Agreed



Agreed, although not sure how much was him vs actually needing surgery, not sure many players opt for surgery for fun.



Can add Reaves to this, his deadline acquisitions and then overpaying every NHL tweener

Obviously we all have hindsight on these moves. Your assessment seems to be benefiting a bit too much from it.

- Who were you signing with the Bertuzzi money exactly?

- One year old Sammy let him walk to UFA. They did not want to commit and it was the right call. Who were you signing as our goalie last year?

- Hey, Buzz Killington. Losing Clarke is separate from drafting the steak of the 2023 draft.

- yes, six picks and no prospects. The picks were 2 x 3rd, 1 x 4th, 1 x 5th, and 2 x 6th and we got Dewar and Webber. Not a bad TDL and if we score in OT in G7 everyone says "nice job" on Lyubushkin and Edmundson.

-Firing Keefe and co had to happen. It was a good move, so was extending him so he wasn't a lame duck and then not getting stuck paying him. What remains to be seen is if Berube was the right hire.

- Reaves was overpaid but that contract is easily almost completely buried. It was structured in a way that he can be buried in the AHL even though he was 35+. Too little of an oberpay to worry about.

- What tweeners? Kampf I guess, by about $750K, or probably movable. Who else?

 

[notbias]

Obviously we all have hindsight on these moves. Your assessment seems to be benefiting a bit too much from it.

How else are you supposed to judge moves made by a GM where you have the results of the move?

It is like people pretending the Huberdeau trade was good... he made a trade that on paper looked great, but in reality it crimpled his team for years to come... not sure I'd call that a good move.

- Who were you signing with the Bertuzzi money exactly?

Any 3rd liner would have been a fine replacement and you still have 2.5 million left over.

- One year old Sammy let him walk to UFA. They did not want to commit and it was the right call. Who were you signing as our goalie last year?

I think it was fine at the time, but we can see the move with hindsight, he has terrible goalie evaluation I guess.

I was fine with it at the time, I would have been wrong too, but I don't blame Treliving for signing him, it just seems weird to not apply results when we have them.

- Hey, Buzz Killington. Losing Clarke is separate from drafting the steak of the 2023 draft.

The guy who scouted Cowan was Wes.

- yes, six picks and no prospects. The picks were 2 x 3rd, 1 x 4th, 1 x 5th, and 2 x 6th and we got Dewar and Webber. Not a bad TDL and if we score in OT in G7 everyone says "nice job" on Lyubushkin and Edmundson.

Edmundson sucked, Lub was good.

I hate the strategy of throwing random picks away for fun.

Either make some moves that will move the needle or do nothing, we seemed scared.

6 picks is not nothing... I don't mind him making moves, just do something useful, he abandoned his start of the season plan of getting the backend more mobile, it was idiotic to do that, that was actually the right idea, and he's adjusted this year slightly.

-Firing Keefe and co had to happen. It was a good move, so was extending him so he wasn't a lame duck and then not getting stuck paying him. What remains to be seen is if Berube was the right hire.

I don't care that Keefe was fired, the signing of Berube is fine, but kind of hard to call it a win, the team can get worse under him...

- Reaves was overpaid but that contract is easily almost completely buried. It was structured in a way that he can be buried in the AHL even though he was 35+. Too little of an oberpay to worry about.

Well, he is either playing which is a negative, or 13th forward which is a lot to spend on one, I would be surprised, but very happy if he was in the AHL.

- What tweeners? Kampf I guess, by about $750K, or probably movable. Who else?

Benoit or Hakanpaa will be the 7th D, not sure who yet, I am still hoping Hakanpaa doesn't clear his medical.

Pretty much everyone but Domi was overpaid to some degree, most aren't tweeners though.

 

[conFABulator]

How else are you supposed to judge moves made by a GM where you have the results of the move?

It is like people pretending the Huberdeau trade was good... he made a trade that on paper looked great, but in reality it crimpled his team for years to come... not sure I'd call that a good move.



Any 3rd liner would have been a fine replacement and you still have 2.5 million left over.



I think it was fine at the time, but we can see the move with hindsight, he has terrible goalie evaluation I guess.

I was fine with it at the time, I would have been wrong too, but I don't blame Treliving for signing him, it just seems weird to not apply results when we have them.



The guy who scouted Cowan was Wes.



Edmundson sucked, Lub was good.

I hate the strategy of throwing random picks away for fun.

Either make some moves that will move the needle or do nothing, we seemed scared.

6 picks is not nothing... I don't mind him making moves, just do something useful, he abandoned his start of the season plan of getting the backend more mobile, it was idiotic to do that, that was actually the right idea, and he's adjusted this year slightly.



I don't care that Keefe was fired, the signing of Berube is fine, but kind of hard to call it a win, the team can get worse under him...



Well, he is either playing which is a negative, or 13th forward which is a lot to spend on one, I would be surprised, but very happy if he was in the AHL.



Benoit or Hakanpaa will be the 7th D, not sure who yet, I am still hoping Hakanpaa doesn't clear his medical.

Pretty much everyone but Domi was overpaid to some degree, most aren't tweeners though.

Thanks, I won't keep going back and forth line by like because that is not great viewing for others.

My primary point was that Tre came in at a weird time and therefore last off season was not a fair time to make a definitive assessment of what he can do. He definitely didn't handcuff us with long term problems, including Keefe. Shanny pretty much declared the core four were coming back, so he wasn't doing anything drastic.

I was afraid we might be buyers of expensive players at the TDL and I am glad that we weren't. I would say he traded four picks for rentals (Webber and Dewar are not rentals) and retention. The guys be got did pretty well as UFAs so he definitely got players with value and didn't move top picks or prospects. He also did well to pick up extra picks and Danford this year.

He also did not extend Marner or Tavares and we could be looking back at those non moves as good ones.

I am not at all sold on Treliving and didn't want him in here. I will say it is too early to know if I was right.

 

[centipede2233]

The damage is done. Well done MLSE, well done. You made your bed, now lie in it

 

[notDatsyuk]

To say you have confidence in Treliving would be ridiculous. He hasn't been here long enough to see the results of his decisions. His track record prior to TO was not confidence inspiring.

So far, the good...

- Bertuzzi and Domi on one year deals
- Not signing Samsonov for more than one year
- Signing Benoit
- Drafting Cowan
- Not trading futures at the TDL
- Moving out Keefe and co.
- Resigning Domi at a decent deal and term
- Matthews re-sign
- Handling last year of Murray's deal

The Bad..

- Klingberg

The Remains to be Seen...

- Nylander contract
- Tanev, OEL, Stolarz
- Danford
- Hakanpaa
- Woll extension
- Letting Bertuzzi walk
- How he handles Marner and Tavares, so far so good

I guess when I put it that way, only one bad move so far but this off-season and Nylander will be what he is measured on

I wouldn't say the Kleinberg signing was bad, unless Tre knew in advance he was injured and took a chance.

Unfortunate yes.

Some posters seem to think Tre's a total failure because he hasn't moved several of the 'big four', even with their NMCs. Oddly enough, they seem to be the same posters who think it should be easy to trade Marner for McDavid and Makar (both 50% retained).

 

[Gilmour1996]

On the other hand, we've got Cliff Fletcher still here and at 88 years old how many other teams have that level of experience in their organizations, lol? If we need Cliff as an advisor in the organization, we're in deep trouble.

 

[notbias]

I wouldn't say the Kleinberg signing was bad, unless Tre knew in advance he was injured and took a chance.

Unfortunate yes.

How is 4 million for a #6D not bad? Klingberg was not good for a long time, it didn't start that year.

Good idea, terrible execution.

Some posters seem to think Tre's a total failure because he hasn't moved several of the 'big four', even with their NMCs. Oddly enough, they seem to be the same posters who think it should be easy to trade Marner for McDavid and Makar (both 50% retained).

You're making this up.

He also had a chance to move Marner and Nylander, but didn't move either.

I don't mind that he didn't.

 

[conFABulator]

I wouldn't say the Kleinberg signing was bad, unless Tre knew in advance he was injured and took a chance.

Unfortunate yes.

Some posters seem to think Tre's a total failure because he hasn't moved several of the 'big four', even with their NMCs. Oddly enough, they seem to be the same posters who think it should be easy to trade Marner for McDavid and Makar (both 50% retained).

I can't imagine anyone was offering Klingberg anything close to what he got from us.

 

[hullsy47]

It's no reflection of Treliving. There's only one name with mud on his face.

pelley can fix this .hes his boss