Brad Treliving’s asset management with the Scott Laughton trade should lose him his job with Maple Leafs

Contrary to what fans sitting on their couch and armchair analyzing games might think, being a general manager in the NHL is not an easy job. It’s not like GM Mode in the EA Sports franchise where you can make trades by adding pieces to each side until the ‘trade value’ bar matches up. It involves real conversations, walking the thin line of balancing business decisions with human instinct, and it’s often not just one guy calling the shots.

All of this is to say that I typically try to give general managers the benefit of the doubt and focus on the good before the bad. There’s a lot of risk in the job and sometimes, gambles don’t pay off. It’s why I gave Kyle Dubas such a long leash during his time as Toronto Maple Leafs GM, and why I’ve tried to do the same for Brad Treliving. For the questionable moves he made early on, like extending David Kampf by four years and signing Ryan Reaves, he made up for them by nailing the contract extensions for John Tavares and Matthew Knies.

But, here we are. It’s March 2026, Treliving’s third year as general manager, and the Leafs are shockingly five points out of the bottom five in the NHL standings. It’s uncharted territory for this Leafs team, one that’s made the playoffs each year since drafting Auston Matthews. Normally, if your team is in this position at this time of year, you’re hoping they lose as much as possible in order to get a high draft pick. And yet, Leafs fans can’t even do that without the sense of dread in their guts over the fact that Boston currently owns their first-round pick. One that is top-5 protected, albeit, but even if the Leafs bottom out and get to pick in the top five, Boston gets an unprotected pick in 2028.

That pick was traded to the Bruins in a deal for Brandon Carlo at last season’s trade deadline. The other trade from that deadline was a 2027 first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin to the Philadelphia Flyers for Scott Laughton. Let the record show that, although these are two incredibly high prices, I attempted to see the good in both deals. Sure, it was expensive, but while all of the contenders around the Leafs were adding, they did what they had to do and brought in a heart-and-soul third-line centre, which was a hole they had, and a top-four right-handed defenceman, another hole they had. It got them further in the playoffs than they’ve ever been before, but in the end, the bar for success was higher than Game 7 of the second round, so it left fans feeling empty-handed.

I’m not exactly one for revisionist history. It’s easy to say that the Leafs shouldn’t have paid such a hefty price for Laughton now that they’re out of a playoff spot. My issue with the trade has everything to do with the asset management rather than the initial price paid. Treliving heavily invested into Laughton, paying a first-round pick and a top prospect for him.

Laughton immediately struggled out of the gate, which could be chalked up to having to pivot mid-season after spending 11 years in a row with the same organization. Craig Berube, who is the head coach that Treliving handpicked for the job, refused to play Laughton anywhere higher than the fourth line the following season, leading to his value diminishing and his offensive game plummeting with only eight goals and 12 points in 43 games. Despite this, Laughton continued to win over the hearts of fans and his teammates, with his impact on rookies like Easton Cowan well-documented over the course of the season.

“He’s been nothing but good to me. I haven’t known him long, but probably wouldn’t be the person I am right now without him,” Cowan said about Laughton potentially being traded after a game against the New York Rangers. “Just a great teammate, and it’s obviously really unfortunate.”

Between the Maple Leafs’ season spiraling the way it did and Berube’s reluctance to give him any sort of meaningful minutes, Laughton ended up being shipped out to the Los Angeles Kings for a third-round pick with literal seconds to spare at the deadline. He already has two goals and three points in three games with the Kings.

With due respect, this is the type of asset management that should have Treliving out of a job by the end of the season. Outside of the core pieces, the team that has struggled so much in 2025-26 is one that he constructed, and trading a heart-and-soul fan favourite for a lone third-rounder only a year after trading two of your most valuable assets to get him is something that would get you a pink slip in any other industry. Sure, Laughton may have left in free agency had they not traded him, and I can appreciate that point of view. And, sure, maybe the market was a little bit different this year than it was last season.

Still, had Treliving made a conscious effort to keep Laughton, shown him that he sees him as a valuable part of this team and expressed that’s why he paid the initial price with him, it at least would have been commendable and opened the door for him to play a role in future playoff teams after this re-tool season concludes. And now the Leafs are out a heart and soul guy, out their own first-round pick in 2027, and out a top prospect, left with only a third-round pick to show for it.

The Leafs are at a real crossroads for the first time in their franchise history, and after three years of Brad Treliving it’s clear that he’s not the guy to right the ship and get them to the Stanley Cup Final. The Laughton trade and the asset management around it was simply the straw that broke the camel’s back.

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