Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Craig Berube is scrambling to fix a broken lineup while Brad Treliving watches his latest castoff, Scott Laughton, immediately light the lamp out west.
The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager is getting absolutely roasted by a frustrated fan base this weekend. Moves to dump 2 roster players are looking completely disastrous.
Shipping out established pieces with over 500 combined NHL games during a playoff push is a massive gamble. Treliving bet against his guys, and it is failing miserably.
Laughton dressed for the Los Angeles Kings last night and wasted zero time proving his former boss wrong. He logged 14 hard minutes on the West Coast.
The gritty forward found the back of the net on 1 of his 3 shots for his new club. He brought the exact physical energy Toronto severely lacks.
Watching him celebrate in a different sweater had to sting the front office. Treliving essentially handed a Western Conference contender a reliable weapon for their top 9. It is the kind of move that continues to show the incompetence of the Maple Leafs’ tepid front office.
If that was not enough humiliation for a 48-hour window, Sunday brought another brutal reminder of poor asset management. The pain kept coming for the blue and white.
Another Former Leaf Strikes Back
Nicolas Roy, another casualty of the recent trade deadline purge, took the ice for the Colorado Avalanche this afternoon. He clearly had a massive chip on his shoulder.
Roy ripped a beautiful shot to score for Colorado, instantly contributing to their top-tier offense. His transition game looked completely revitalized in the high altitude.
Giving up on a versatile center who stands 6-foot-4 is a head-scratching front office blunder. Seeing him immediately thrive makes the recent trade look entirely lopsided.
The Maple Leafs are currently begging for any kind of consistent secondary scoring. They have produced exactly no goals from their bottom trio over the past week.
Instead of leaning on 2 physical veterans for the stretch drive, management dismantled the depth chart. The locker room is definitely noticing these glaring defensive lapses.
Treliving is paying the price for tinkering with a roster that needed minor tweaks. His reputation as a savvy negotiator is taking a massive hit across the league.
Toronto is now forced to watch their castoffs thrive on national television broadcasts. It is a harsh reality check for an organization chasing a championship this spring.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
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Brad Treliving humiliated by yet another former Maple Leafs player
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