Brad Treliving is passing the blame to the Maple Leafs core on his way out the door
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Brad Treliving made sure to leave the Maple Leafs with one last parting gift, that being a teardown of the team's attitude and core values in a recent interview.
Brad Treliving failed to build a competitive team in Toronto but is passing the blame to the team's core. His recent interview talked about how the team didn't buy-in to the entire philosophy of playing hard and grinding out close wins. The Maple Leafs fired both him and Craig Berube to get away from that style of play, so it sounds like sour grapes from the former GM.
The 2025-26 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs was a dismal failure. They went from Atlantic Division champs in 2024-25 to the basement of the division this year. It led to a trade deadline where several fan favourites were sent elsewhere, then the eventual firings of both Brad Treliving and Craig Berube.
Brad Treliving does not believe the Maple Leafs bought in for the 2025-26 season and that was their downfall
It's the former that is drawing attention given his recent interview with the Toronto Star. Treliving, who is currently running Team Canada's World Championship team, spoke about how the team didn't really play to the style expected of them, and they lacked the motivation to buy-in fully to the game plan:
It was a death by 1,000 cuts. We didn't have the buy-in. You can debate how we played. I talked a little bit about it in November, but even the games we won, we weren't winning. Whether it was shot-share, controlling play, driving play.
You have to at least credit Treliving for having some base awareness about how bad the team was, but it was on him to make improvements and beyond firing Marc Savard; nothing monumental happened.
But death by a thousand cuts indeed. Chris Tanev missed basically the entire year, Auston Matthews tore his knee to shreds, William Nylander missed a quarter of the season, Anthony Stolarz couldn't stay healthy and when he did play, was pedestrian at best.
Then you have the constant bickering and back and forth between the team and Berube, who on several occasions would call out players for their perceived lack of heart, however it was his system that led the team down the path of failure this year.
The combination of inactivity and laziness on behalf of the front office, the massive list of injuries and mounting locker room tension was too much to bear for the Maple Leafs and it led to an implosion that we're now just feeling the effects of.
Toronto needs to ignore Treliving's comments because the focus is shifting from the past to the future
Sure there may be resentment and a bit of frustration on Treliving's behalf but Toronto needs to shut their ears. Yeah, they didn't buy in because their coach was yelling at them every day, their GM was not actively helping to improve the team and were seeing a once loyal and dedicated fanbase turn their backs on them.
When Berube said he 'didn't understand the deflated stuff' he was possibly as tone-deaf as we've ever seen from a Maple Leafs coach. These aren't robots built and programmed to play hockey; they're human beings. They have feelings, they have their own opinions, they have a deep love for the game they sacrificed so much for.
You're going to be deflated if you're losing, hurt, and alone. I don't get why the former coach couldn't understand that basic facet of human nature.
But worry not anymore. The focus isn't on Treliving and Berube and what they couldn't do, but what John Chayka, Mats Sundin, and the new head coach will do. If we dwell on the failures of the past, we'll miss out on the future.
We're already hearing rumblings of massive blockbuster deals, nigh-impossible head coach signings, and a renewed interest in where the franchise is going especially with Gavin McKenna potentially around the corner.
For years they were spinning their wheels and they flew off this year. So it was time to repair things, go back to the drawing board, and find a game plan that lasts beyond a season.
Brad Treliving will probably find his way back to the NHL at some point, and Craig Berube is likely going to coach once again in some capacity.
But they're going to look pretty silly when they stare dead in the face of the Maple Leafs team that is built to beat them and make them regret ever question the team in the first place.
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Brad Treliving just signaled the end of Morgan Rielly in Toronto while standing next to him at the Worlds
Brad Treliving just signaled the end of Morgan Rielly in Toronto while standing next to him at the Worlds
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13 MINUTES AGO|1 ANSWERS Brad Treliving is passing the blame to the Maple Leafs core on his way out the door Does Brad Treliving deserve none, some, or all of the blame for Toronto's failure this year? | ||