Inside Toronto's War Room: Behind the Scenes of a Chaotic Trade Deadline
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
With the NHL Trade Deadline arguably the most chaotic day of the season, we take a look inside Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving's War Room, as the hours counted down.
The NHL Trade Deadline could be considered a big success for the Maple Leafs all things considered.
Acquiring Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo were big moves that will hopefully give Toronto the edge when it comes to the playoffs.
It was a chaotic and hectic day, but the team came out relatively unscathed (minus losing Fraser Minten) and GM Brad Treliving needs to be commended for his efforts, and through tired eyes and a long 24 hours; he got done what was needed.
Toronto's War Room On Deadline Full Of Chaos And Success
The Maple Leafs media team understood the difficulties of the situation, and ended up documenting the GM's War Room experience. A video posted on YouTube shows the process behind the deals, and how chaotic things got for Treliving.
Some of the notable takeaways from the eight-and-a-half minute video include Craig Berube's rousing speech to the boys ahead of the deadline, getting them to focus on the season regardless of the noise around them.
When asked about how the deadline turned out for him, it was a calm response from the GM despite all the craziness:
Business as usual. Deadline Day is always busy right? Deadlines force decisions in some cases. You saw lots of activity in the league, it was difficult trying to decipher who may become available.
I think it went down to the last few days for some teams making decisions on which way they were going to go. You have to do your work ahead of time. Credit to the staff, we were prepared. You know, executed the plan.
I think it went down to the last few days for some teams making decisions on which way they were going to go. You have to do your work ahead of time. Credit to the staff, we were prepared. You know, executed the plan.
The video then shows Treliving on the phone passing on a potential deal due to the price, and then it shows the last-minute acquisition of Brandon Carlo; with Team President Brendan Shanahan giving him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder:
We came in with a couple objectives. I mean you look at a bunch of stuff, to try to help make the team better, but specifically, we wanted to look at two areas, and one was on the blue line, and center ice position and give us some depth there.
The video then fast-forwards to Carlo and Laughton arriving to Denver to join the Maple Leafs the day after the deadline, and the blue liner admitted he was a little taken aback by the whole process:
My reaction was a little stunned at first. It happened very late at the deadline. I wasn't sure what was going to be happening, but after I settled and realized that I was coming here, to the make-up of this group; seeing what they got going on here, I was very excited.
Both Laughton and Carlo are already doing their jobs with Toronto, and in the case of Carlo; has been a huge relief to the whole Morgan Rielly partner fiasco.
It was a homecoming for Laughton, who admitted that he's been in talks for years about a potential move, and figured eventually the domino would fall:
I've been in trade talks for about 4 or 5 years now. I think at first you're nervous, you're not quite sure what to expect. It was a crazy day, I got held out of practice, and then was just waiting in the change room with a bunch of guys, waiting to hear and watching it on TV.
Definitely an emotional day for myself and my wife, big changes for us. So yeah, very emotional day.
Definitely an emotional day for myself and my wife, big changes for us. So yeah, very emotional day.
It was something of a coup for Treliving to acquire both Carlo and Laughton, and though the price given up for both involved two first round picks as well as prospects Fraser Minten and Nikita Grebenkin, they were deals that needed to be done.
The glimpse into the workings of Treliving and company provides great insight into how hard the staff works to ensure the team can get the best pieces possible. It was clear they were tired both mentally and physically, but still managed to pull off some great trades.
Take a breather Brad, cause it doesn't get much easier from here on out.
| POLL | ||
MARS 19 | 356 ANSWERS Inside Toronto's War Room: Behind the Scenes of a Chaotic Trade Deadline Do you think the Maple Leafs made the right trades at the deadline? | ||
| Yes | 212 | 59.6 % |
| No | 144 | 40.4 % |
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