The Toronto Maple Leafs once again made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week by finally deciding to part ways with general manager Brad Treliving.
In just under three years of Treliving overseeing the direction of the franchise, the Leafs flattered to deceive despite sky-high expectations. While some regression was expected after the Mitch Marner sign-and-trade, the Leafs just nosedived, leaving little breathing room for Treliving’s series of underwhelming moves.
While few questioned the decision to fire Treliving, some eyebrows were raised over the timing of the announcement, given the fact that Toronto was prepping for retribution against the Anaheim Ducks and their captain, Radko Gudas, when the decision was announced.
Jay Rosehill Questions Maple Leafs’ Timing After Firing Brad Treliving
Former Maple Leafs enforcer Jay Rosehill, the co-host of Leafs Morning Take, wasted little time making his feelings known on the Leafs firing Treliving. While he was largely on board with the decision (and advocated for it at times), Rosehill struggled to wrap his head around the timing of it all.
“I thought they were gonna wait till the end of the season to do this, and I thought [Craig] Berube would go first,” Rosehill said. “Obviously, that’s not where their heads are at. They wanna get ahead of it. Just surprised at the timing of it, to be honest. They know what this season is, and they’ve known it for a while. Just curious as to where their heads are at with the timing of it.”
Rosehill also pointed to the uneventful nature of past trade deadlines as evidence that Treliving’s exit was a foregone conclusion this year.
“When you think about the moves made at the trade deadline last year and going into this season, not a lot of them are looking good for Treliving. This season is a disaster. My only question now is how much of a change is this organization looking to make?”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, Keith Pelley, President of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, noted that the timing was squarely down to Treliving’s request to rip the band-aid off.
“We were going to announce this today. It wasn’t ideal to announce it prior to a game, but he requested that, and we honoured that request,” Pelley said.
All things considered, you’d be hard-pressed to put your finger on which of Treliving’s moves were close to paying off.
A couple of the worse ones stand out like a sore thumb. First, the move to trade Fraser Minten and a first-round pick to the Boston Bruins to bring Brandon Carlo to town, and then the move to send a fourth-round pick the Vancouver Canucks’ way to get Dakota Joshua.
While the fourth-rounder is a small price to pay, there was little to no interest in Joshua when the Leafs came calling, raising more questions on how Treliving went about his business.
But that’s all in the rearview mirror now.
Pelley and the Leafs will now begin a fresh search for a new general manager. With an eventful summer and a thin free agency class in the offing, the Leafs will do well to get a candidate in sooner rather than later.
READ MORE: Maple Leafs’ John Tavares Breaks Silence After GM Brad Treliving’s Firing
