The Toronto Maple Leafs have experienced two distinctly different managerial approaches in recent years. Brad Treliving, who took over in 2023, has adopted a more cautious and defense-focused strategy, addressing the teams current needs while trying to conserve long term cap space. Unfortunately, his term has been marked by an inability to make trades, and a penchant for overpaying depth players.
In terms of trades, Treliving hasn't made anything other than minor transactions. Other than John Ferguson Jr., Treliving has the longest tenure as the Toronto Maple Leafs GM without making a major trade.
Instead, he has focused on lower risk moves that try to address specific needs, and has spent quite a bit of draft capital to do so. For example, he acquired Ilya Lyubushkin for a third-round pick—a move that added absolutely nothing to the team at the cost of a future pick.
Similarly, Joel Edmundson was brought in for a third round and a fifth round pick to provide physicality on the blue line. Treliving wasted a lot of draft capital on two slow, plodding defenseman with limited upside. Neither ended up helping the Leafs and they entered the playoffs without any significant upgrades.
Treliving’s free-agent signings have been hit or miss, but they've been a lot better than his trades. The signings of Bertuzzi and Tanev were excellent, at least.
Trelivings Approach to the 2024-2025 Season
Domi signed a one-year, $3 million contract for the 2023-24 season and was re-signed to a four-year deal worth $3.75 million annually entering 2024-25. This has proven to be a mistake as Domi has been pretty bad this year.
Treliving signed Anthony Stolarz to a one-year, $875,000 contract with the Leafs in July 2024 to serve as a co-starter with Joseph Woll. Before suffering a knee injury in December 2024 that placed him on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), Stolarz was performing exceptionally well.
In 17 games, he posted a 9-5-2 record, a stellar .927 save percentage, and a 2.06 goals-against average (GAA), leading the NHL in save percentage at the time of his injury. Stolarz’s performance has made his contract one of the best value deals on the team this season.
Chris Tanev signed a six-year deal worth $4.5 million Annually in July 2024 to bolster Toronto’s blue line. Tanev has been exactly as advertised—a steady, defense-first blueliner who has brought much-needed stability to the Leafs’ defensive corps. Analysts and fans alike have praised Tanev as one of the most impactful free-agent signings of Treliving’s tenure. (cap info puckpedia.com).
Oliver Ekman-Larsson joined Toronto on a four-year deal worth 3.5 million annually while no longer the elite defenseman he once was, Ekman-Larsson has provided value as a puck-moving blueliner on a Toronto team that desperately needs it. That said, the Leafs paid much more than they should have and for a much longer term. He's helping right now, but this was probably a mistake, especially with Timothy Liljegren already signed and arguably the better player.
Among these signings, Chris Tanev stands out as the best addition due to his transformative effect on Toronto’s defensive structure. His ability to stabilize the top pairing has significantly improved the team’s performance in their own zone. Anthony Stolarz also deserves high praise for exceeding expectations and providing elite-level goaltending at an affordable cost. Meanwhile, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been alright.
Treliving’s cautious approach and risk-adverse mentality has maintained stability while avoiding major mistakes in trades; however, the Leafs have several of the best players alive and in their primes, so you could argue that this isn't the time for a risk-free approach to managing. Certainly Treliving's Trade Deadline performance last year was indisputably bad.
Some of his free-agent signings (e.g., Klingberg, Reaves, Domi, OEL, and Pacioretty) have been underwhelming. His focus on depth acquisitions rather than blockbuster moves has yet to yield transformative results. But on the positive side, he did re-sign Nylander and Matthews to excellent new contracts, and the goaltending looks great right now.
Brad Treliving’s tenure is still unfolding, but his conservative style has hurt him just as much as it's helped him so far. This suggests he is prioritizing long-term sustainability while addressing the teams immediate needs as well, but in a parity filled cap-league, big risks are required to try to win. The true measure of his impact will depend on whether Treliving can guide this team further into playoff contention than his predecessor ever did.
With the Trade Deadline on the horizon, and two of his main competitors already adding some of the best players in the league to their rosters, the next month or so is likely to define the Treliving Era.