GM Treliving wants Maple Leafs to man up in final 19 games

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The remaining 19 games for the Maple Leafs will still see Craig Berube behind the bench, two notable deletions and some Marlies sprinkled through the lineup.

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It won’t change the inevitable. This team is going south to an unknown fate for many after April 15.

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General manager Brad Treliving completed two deals Friday recouping some picks for his bare cupboard, but nothing tangible came back that can stop Toronto’s slide in the standings, its first playoff failure in 10 seasons.

CHIEF STILL THE COACH – FOR NOW

To the obvious question, six disheartening losses after the Olympic break and little signs of life, Treliving still supports his bench boss. But all signs point to one or both to be gone in six weeks when club president Keith Pelley weighs in.

“I think Craig is a terrific coach. But It hasn’t worked and when it doesn’t work, we all share the blame, the responsibility. It starts with myself, it’s the coaches, the players. We’re all partners in this thing.

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“I don’t see (trade deadline day) as the autopsy. To do a summation now is premature, but like everything else, we’ll review it.”

Toronto has 19 games remaining, a distant eight points out of a wildcard spot before Friday night, with five teams to pass and two others right behind.

They’re well below .500 at 27-25-11. They can’t seem to score, hold leads or get vital overtime points, while their captain is mired in a 10-game goal slump. They’ve given up the most 5-on-5 goals (159), a result of surrendering the league’s most shots (just under 32 a game).

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WHAT DOES TRELIVING WANT TO SEE IN CLOSING WEEKS?

“We came out of the break flat,” he said, frustration evident in his voice. “It’s important we find out why. I can’t give you a good reason for it. It’s not anything we anticipated.

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“It’s a privilege to play in the league and we have to compete as such. I don’t question (there’s no) quit in our team.

“I know there’ll be lots of noise around quitting and the rest of it when you’re in the position we are and reality sets in. Now the losses are piling up, not getting the points we want and you’ve got the trade deadline … it’s reality, they’re humans.

“I’m not making excuses for them, but now that today is behind us, it’s our job to go out there and be professionals.”

It might not be productive pressing younger Leafs into this losing scenario. But rookie centre Easton Cowan has already suffered by stints in the press box, where he could’ve put his energy to good use or been developing with the AHL Marlies.

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“Young players can’t sit,” Treliving said of using him more in the final weeks here or on the farm.

To that end, Treliving filed the paperwork Friday to make Cowan and centre Jacob Quillan eligible for AHL playoffs as well as be retained for NHL duty when play resumes Saturday at home against Tampa Bay. Treliving anticipates other Marlies getting a look, with 26-year-old centre Bo Groulx’s 50 points in 53 games making the one-time Anaheim Duck a leading candidate. Luke Haymes or veteran Vinni Lettieri are also possibilities up front.

About the only thing the Leafs have been steadily proficient at, the league’s No. 1 faceoff team, will take a hit with veterans Nicolas Roy and Scott Laughton traded the past two days.

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Defencemen Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo, Jake McCabe, Simon Benoit and Troy Stecher have all played as if spooked, even before the deadline. At least Treliving and Berube can reinstate defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson after he sat with McMann and Laughton the past two games.

As things unravelled last month, Berube pinned hopes on his returning Olympians Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Ekman-Larsson, then all veterans as a whole. Treliving was asked specifically about Matthews, whose long-term future comes into question if the Leafs are considering rebuild versus re-load.

“Auston and I have a lot of conversations about how this team can get better, the usual ones you have during the year.”

Matthews has two more years on his contract.

IT DOESN’T GET EASIER

Toronto has a tall order when it re-groups, with the division-leading Lightning in town, the first of five current playoff teams they face with Montreal, Anaheim, Buffalo and Minnesota. The Canadiens and Sabres, once far behind the Leafs in their own blueprint, are close to clinching their spots.

Eleven of Toronto’s remaining games are on the road, including four on a trip that winds from St. Louis through California. And while some teams might seem beatable, the Leafs have lost four recently to teams at or behind them in the pack.

lhornby@postmedia.com

X: @sunhornby

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