{"id":581583,"date":"2026-04-04T11:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581583\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T11:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T11:13:17","slug":"brad-trelivings-worst-moves-as-maple-leafs-general-manager-the-hockey-writers-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/581583\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Treliving\u2019s Worst Moves as Maple Leafs General Manager – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs firing general manager Brad Treliving<\/a> came as a surprise this late into the season with seven games remaining. While it was a decision that needed to happen, it should\u2019ve been done months ago and even before the trade deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the bright side, it does give them a head start for the search of a new GM as Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy are assuming the roles on an interim basis. It was a short three seasons, but it was definitely a tenure to forget for Treliving<\/a> as the moves he made came with the hope of working out, but never yielded results. Even being down right embarrassing that could have major implications for the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While he wanted to be known as someone who can help turn things around, he\u2019ll now be known as another failed GM that made decisions that left many scratching their heads. He has put the Maple Leafs in a tough spot<\/a> as whoever comes in, will look to fix his mistakes. Here are five moves that Treliving will be known for the wrong reasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

5. Extending David Kampf<\/p>\n

In his first two seasons, David Kampf did show great signs as a dependable two-way centre who can win draws and kill penalties in a depth role. He hit the 25-point mark in back-to-back seasons and did a great job forcing turnovers as he had 87 takeaways combined those two seasons. Treliving re-warded him with a four-year extension, a $2.4 million cap hit in the hopes that it can continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"BradMay 21, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CANADA; Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving speaks during a media conference to introduce new head coach Craig Berube (not shown) at Ford Performance Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n

However, that backfired as he never regained that same production and consistency, losing favour with head coach Craig Berube last season. He eventually was put on waivers<\/a> and after playing four games with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, he wasn\u2019t happy. The contract alone was met with criticism as the term and value was too high for a fourth line centre and instead of having other priorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget that Pontus Holmberg was already showing glimpses of being that player for the future as he was younger and more consistent. You could argue that he could\u2019ve had better line mates as playing with Ryan Reaves won\u2019t get you far. Even so, the contract backfired big time in a big way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. Ryan Reaves\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many are still wondering why Reaves was signed in the first place. Signing an enforcer to a $4.05 million contract<\/a> with barely any offensive production really didn\u2019t sit well with a lot of people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Being 37 years old at the time, Reaves was brought in to help with the culture and be a veteran presence in the locker room while being a protector on the ice. He had seven fights in his first season, which was great to see, but that fell to only one the following season. If he was brought in to being an intimidating presence, that was met with inconsistencies. The lack of offensive production was also a problem, but going from four goals to zero is definitely not ideal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Related: Keith Pelley\u2019s Press Conference Leaves Reason for Maple Leafs To Be Concerned<\/a><\/p>\n

He was constantly hemmed in his own zone most of the time and with a minimum of 500 minutes played as a Maple Leaf, he had the worst goals for percentage of 31.71% and an expected goals for percentage of 46.51%. The contract was ultimately poor cap management as he was eventually traded to the San Jose Sharks<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

3. The Marner Sign and Trade<\/p>\n

This was shades of the Matthew Tkachuk move that Treliving faced with the Calgary Flames, a trade he also lost. He lost another trade with another star player leaving for virtually nothing in the Mitch Marner<\/a> sign and trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. Treliving at least got a package for Tkachuk in Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar, but he only managed to get a third-line centre in Nicolas Roy for Marner as his hands were tied.<\/p>\n

\"MitchMitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

While there was much more to everything as the Marner Saga came to an ugly end, you\u2019re weren\u2019t going to get a lot in return as Treliving had no leverage. Could you have at least asked something for more valuable like a first-round pick? Probably, Marner is a perennial playmaker in the league. Roy did serve as a valuable piece at times as a third line centre, but there at least could\u2019ve been something else to get in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Elliotte Friedman wrote<\/a>, Vegas pursued and knew that they can get him if the chance presented itself and it did. With Marner gone, it\u2019s still a glaring hole that needs to be filled. Treliving not making that a priority as soon as it happened with no opportunity presenting itself in the offseason, it\u2019s a failure on his part.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2. The 2026 Trade Deadline<\/p>\n

The 2026 Trade Deadline was an opportunity for Treliving to right his wrongs and get assets for his players that were on the market. It started off well as he flipped Roy for a first-round pick in 2028 from the Colorado Avalanche. That led to many hoping that things were looking right, but actually was met with underwhelming results<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then came deadline day as Treliving whiffed on some of his valuable assets. Bobby McMann<\/a> went to the Seattle Kraken for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 and Scott Laughton was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional third-round pick in 2026. Considering what other players went for, the returns were failures as it felt like Treliving panicked just to get something done.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/p>\n

McMann easily could\u2019ve gone for two seconds or even a first seeing he had 19 goals and 32 points with the Maple Leafs and now registering seven goals and 11 points for the Kraken. The fact that Treliving couldn\u2019t get a haul for a power forward winger is tough to watch. With Laughton, Treliving wasn\u2019t going to get what he got for him<\/a> in the first place, but securing a second would\u2019ve been best instead of having a condition on it. Other depth centres went for that price, why didn\u2019t Treliving fight harder for it? If it wasn\u2019t for the Roy trade, Treliving would\u2019ve received a lower grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

1. The Brandon Carlo Trade<\/p>\n

This really isn\u2019t any debate as this trade with the Boston Bruins is truly Treliving\u2019s worst move. At the time, it was a move that really did have some merit with Brandon Carlo<\/a> being a right-shot, physical shutdown defender. Giving up Fraser Minten was a risk, but the top-five protected pick is what\u2019s coming back to haunt them.<\/p>\n

\"BrandonBrandon Carlo, Toronto Maple Leafs (Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

In hindsight, no one expected the Maple Leafs to be this bad this season. Carlo himself hasn\u2019t quite lived up to expectations, where the physical and defensive play haven\u2019t been where it needs to be for him to be successful. While this season could be a one-off, that pick\u2013 which is in the hands of the Bruins right now\u2013 could eventually be costly. If the Maple Leafs finish outside of the top-five, the Bruins keep it and they lose out on a potentially impactful prospect. Treliving lost out on the conditions<\/a> of the pick once again and now it\u2019s having a drastic impact on the team\u2019s standings, their future and pipeline.<\/p>\n

Related: Maple Leafs\u2019 Best Path Forward Is a Teardown Rebuild<\/a><\/p>\n

This alone sums up Treliving\u2019s tenure with the Maple Leafs as this was his worst deal to date as the implications are much greater. Not only did the Bruins get a top prospect in Minten, they\u2019re going to get another via the pick if the Maple Leafs don\u2019t find themselves in the top-five.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Maple Leafs firing general manager Brad Treliving came as a surprise this late into the season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[159015,20218,9110,43,8436,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-581583","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-bobby-mcmann","9":"tag-brad-treliving","10":"tag-brandon-carlo","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-mitch-marner","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}