Leafs GM Treliving Wraps Up Free Agency, Suggests New Team Plan Likely Underway

Speaking to reporters today after feee agency, Brad Treliving discussed what was the most pressing matter on the minds of Toronto Maple Leafs, his thoughts on the trade that sent Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto acquired center Nicolas Roy in return.

Marner, who signed an eight-year deal at $12M annually in a sign-and-trade from Totonto to Vegas, was dealt after a challenging signing negotiation that led the Leafs to have to wait until the end of the season for Marner to engage in extension talks.

Brad Treliving refused to comment on the specific of negotiations involving Marner and what ultimately led to the team pulling the trigger on the trade, but described the move as difficult while calling Marner one of the top players to ever play for the Leafs.

Treliving went on to praise newly acquired Nicolas Roy, calling him a player who is defensively reliable and can play on the penalty kill, and that getting a piece back for losing Marner is a positive for Toronto.

Treliving declined to comment on reports in the media about the Leafs Looking into tampering allegations against the Golden Knights in the Marner trade saga.

Despite what was a quiet free agent market, Brad Treliving admitted that the options available have lessened after a multitude of signings that narrowed the signing pool immensely on the first day of deals being made.

Although Nikolaj Ehlers remains unsigned, top forwards have been signed including Brock Boeser re-signing with the Vancouver Canucks and Mikael Granlund agreeing to a deal with the Anaheim Ducks.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have to end up looking to the trade market to satisfy their need for a top-six forward.

They've already used trades to acquire Nicolas Roy and Matias Maccelli, but it's hard to imagine either is expected to replace Marner, unless a better option isn't available whether by trade or signing.

The Leafs did add forward depth in signing Michael Pezzetta to a two-year deal, along with deals for a former Leaf in Travis Boyd, as well as Benoit-Olivier Groulx and re-signing Dakota Mermis.

Brad Treliving says the hunt is still on for a key forward in their top-six, although it's looking highly unlikely that it'll come from free agency.

The Leafs have $5M in cap space, a bit of a crunch that makes trading for a forward and sending a salary the other way the more likely option for Toronto to do in achieving their goal of a top forward addition.

Names include David Kampf, Calle Jarnkrok, and potentially the likes of Max Domi though that feels like a long shot at this point.

As of day one, all is quiet in Toronto in what eventually could become a splash that may take a while to see ultimately come to fruition.