Leafs and Brad Treliving are making strategic moves and no one is noticing

Despite the fact that the Leafs have their "Core Four" and are ready to compete for a Stanley Cup next season, they also have a ton of young talent in their farm system, with up and coming players who are expected to be very good in the league in a few years.

Players of the likes of Easton Cowan, Matthew Knies, Fraser Minten, Joseph Woll, Nick Robertson...Oh my does the list ever go on.

Speaking of the Leafs' top prospects, Easton Cowan is a new name that's emerged. Being compared to a player like Brad Marchand should excite Leafs fans for the upcoming season.

Who can take the position as their third-line center? Fraser Minten, a two-way forward who has proven himself capable of becoming an NHLer, can compete for a top-nine role on the Maple Leafs.

And finally, Matthew Knies is the player who will replace Tyler Bertuzzi on the first line with Auston Matthews. His task will be to create space for the superstar American. He is being compared to someone like Chris Kreider.

The Maple Leafs literally have a future powerhouse team waiting to join Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander in their quest to secure a Stanley Cup.

GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs Brad Treliving is quietly starting a rebuild while the team is on the verge of becoming Stanley Cup contenders.

A full blown rebuild with a player like Auston Matthews on the team wouldn't make sense and fans would be completely ticked off, but doing it in a way where the team remains super competitive and ready to remain competitive once the current core moves on is the smartest way to go about it.

He has scored 368 goals for the Leafs and added a further 281 assists in 562 games.

Source: Editor in Leaf
The Toronto Maple Leafs Are Rebuilding on the Fly, but No One Has Noticed

Source: HockeyDB
Auston Matthews Statistics