Brad Treliving Saving his Last Secret Move for This Off-Season

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Graham Montgomery
March 22, 2024 (10:21)

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Leafs reporter Luke Fox believes Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving is saving his last move for this off-season and it involves head coach Sheldon Keefe's job.

Leafs reporter warns Sheldon Keefe is on the hot seat

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a precarious situation this year as they approach the playoffs with their worst regular season points percentage since the shortened 2019-20 season. Furthermore, the team hasn't made it out of the second round since 2002. Last season saw the Leafs win their first playoff series since 2004.

However, the team promptly got steamrolled by the Florida Panthers, who required just five games to secure the series. Leafs reporter Luke Fox believes the team needs to win a couple of rounds this season to save face.

"I think you gotta win two rounds. Or, if you go out in the second round, there's no excuse for going out in the first round, which is maybe too high of a bar because they're going to be underdogs in that first round, but what they achieved last season I think they absolutely have to win a round and if you're going to lose in the second round, you got to push it to seven, you got to go down fighting."

Hockey writer Jim Parsons mentioned that Keefe's contract is structured in a way that is convenient for the team to fire him should things come to that. He has just one year remaining on his deal after this one, giving Treliving the chance to fire him should things go wrong this season. Keefe signed the extension with the Leafs last August.

"Keefe was given a two-year contract extension in 2023 that would run to the end of the 2025-26 season. One could argue there's a reason the Treliving didn't go longer. If it was required that the GM needed flexibility to move on from the coach, it would have been much tougher to do on a three or five-year deal."

Parsons makes a good point. The way this contract is structured makes the coach an easy target should things go wrong this season. Treliving could blame the season on Keefe and replace him just like that. So far, the Leafs have taken a step back in terms of points percentage. However, some of that is due to the bad injury luck the team has dealt with, particularly on defense. Still though, it appears as though Treliving may have set Keefe up to be his scapegoat this season. Hopefully for Keefe's sake, the team breaks through in the playoffs this season.

As seen on Brad Treliving Saved Specific Bullet For Maple Leafs' Offseason