Treliving’s work at the deadline was far from the reason why the Leafs opted to relieve him of his duties prior to the end of the regular season, and yet the ripple effects of his actions will be felt for quite some time. We asked you on social media to grade Treliving’s body of work. Without further delay, here are the highlights.
He sewered this team in tinder three years. How could it be anything other than an F?
The overwhelming consensus among Leafs fans was an F grade, and it’s not hard to see why. The packages he gave up for Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo at the 2025 trade deadline will be analyzed for years to come, he was a master at kicking tires but failed to pull the trigger, and the Leafs became older and slower by the time of his firing.
D. Wrong players gotten. Also a couple of bad contracts. Toronto hasnt been this bad in years. So yeah, “great” job and thank you 👍 we as investors love it.
While Treliving had his contracts that have aged, such as the one he gave to Oliver Ekman-Larsson, there were also some terrible deals along the way. The contract he provided to David Kampf made little sense at the time and never reached its conclusion, as he was bought out in year three. Ryan Reaves’s deal was an albatross and the Leafs got little back of value in dumping his salary. Add in the Timothy Liljegren extension and Max Domi’s second deal with the Leafs and it’s not a good track record for the former GM.
A person has better chances of winning the lottery than of doing such a poor job. Those trades! Good grief. The next one has to be as good as he was bad to get back to where they were. Good luck with that, MLSE.
While it is quite harsh that some would go as far as to label Treliving as the worst GM the Leafs have ever had, you can understand the frustration from fans over his body of work. Time will tell how some of his other moves will age, but it’s not looking promising for him in the early days of the post-Treliving era.
If I had to go by division
Drafting: B
Contracts B
Initial Trade Targets B+
Trade Pivots F
Not everyone was overly critical of Treliving’s work, as some bright spots of his tenure should be noted. Beyond the deal he gave to Ekman-Larsson, the sign-and-trade for Chris Tanev was a smart move, he got John Tavares and Matthew Knies locked up to reasonable extensions, and his PTOs for Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz paid off. It doesn’t take away from the missteps he made during his time in Toronto, but it’s to highlight that even GMs perceived as bad do good things.
He destroyed the team, just like he destroyed Calgary. Only it took him a couple of years instead of 10.
We want to hear from you: how would you grade Brad Treliving’s body of work as the Leafs GM?