It’s not that Treliving has been particularly bad. There have been a lot of questionable moves, but you can equally credit him for not accepting the status quo and trying something direct than his predecessor, I guess. There are some great contracts for John Tavares and Matthew Knies that requires credit going to Treliving, but a collection of other deals that come with red flags. The criticism of Treliving shouldn’t be that he’s a terrible GM, the criticism is more of the Maple Leafs organization and that with the monetary resources of MLSE and the prestige of the Maple Leafs brand, settling for run-of-the-mill GM with a turnkey approach to roster management isn’t the right fit.
While evidence and logic would dictate that the right path for Treliving is to make good on the Leafs opportunity as sellers, that alone might not make a case for Treliving being the right person to stay in charge of the Leafs. Even if he gets a win or two and lands a better return than expected, that might just set up the next GM a little better, not save his job.
The other side of that is if Treliving pushes the Leafs in the direction of buyer and burns through assets in an attempt to get the Leafs into the playoffs. No matter who the Leafs bring in, the opportunity to grab a playoff spot just might not be there and while a bold move might be appreciated, it would have to be a bold move combined with a successful outcome to make a strong case for Treliving.
A successful case for Treliving likely comes in through a few steps that lean closer to the seller side of thing than attempting to salvage the season. The ideal option might involve moves that don’t create huge holes in the roster and still allow the Leafs to play competitive hockey, and the fact that the Leafs have players like Quillan, Cowan, Thrun, Villeneuve, and Hildeby already should make the selling but not scorching the earth an easier sell.
The other piece that Treliving will need to do is bring some acknowledgement of what hasn’t worked. He can’t be afraid to hit undo on some of the players he brought in like Nicolas Roy, Matias Maccelli, or Brandon Carlo.
Cashing out on improved results needs to also be part of the plan. Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Max Domi might never be this moveable again and Treliving needs to avoid being attached to success stories too. And with all players that he’s looking at, he needs to look at them through the lens of whether that player would be as successful or struggle as much under a different coach. Craig Berube is not a lock to be behind the bench in 2026-27 and if a player is tailored to Berube hockey or might thrive more away from it needs to be considered.
And that leads into the key item that Brad Treliving must achieve. He needs to wrap up the trade deadline where players and fans are excited about the Maple Leafs in 2026-27 and feel they are moving towards being a winning hockey team. That’s not necessarily an identity or set a style but seeming like there is buy-in to what the Leafs will be.
Not an easy task by any means but the bar needs to be set extremely high for one of the most coveted positions in hockey.