The Toronto Maple Leafs, Wednesday night’s win notwithstanding, are hardly in a good place. The club is still in the Eastern Conference cellar and doesn’t look quite ready to climb out of it. Fortunately, the race is so tight that a decent winning streak could catapult the Leafs back into the race.
But that possibility doesn’t mask the fact that Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving had a share of misses this offseason. That sentiment is echoed by insider Chris Johnston, who firmly places Treliving in the hot seat.
In his November 25 mailbag in The Athletic, Johnston had this to say about Treliving and the hot seat:
“The Leafs started this season talking about a Stanley Cup pursuit and currently find themselves in the Eastern Conference basement. The seat couldn’t possibly get any hotter. While Treliving has vowed that he can’t trade himself out of this predicament, it hasn’t kept the general manager from gauging the market on his players to see if some kind of shakeup is out there.”
Johnston’s comments seem to indicate Treliving painted himself into a corner. Matias Maccelli and Dakota Joshua have been largely duds. Max Domi hasn’t been very consistent, while the other bottom-six role players like Calle Jarnkrok and Steven Lorentz have carried their weight.
As for the blue line, Brandon Carlo hasn't quite been the player Treliving hoped he’d be. The injury to Chris Tanev has exposed the Maple Leafs’ lack of depth, as blueliners like Philippe Myers have been an unmitigated disaster.
Yes, Treliving can’t trade his way out of this situation. But there really isn’t much he can do. He can try to swing deals, but there’s no silver bullet out there. It’s either this team or bust. The next step would be a massive retool on the fly. That’s about as easy as landing humans on the moon.
It’s possible, but Treliving has very little runway to make that work this season. If lucky, Treliving could pull off a major overhaul during the offseason. Unfortunately for Treliving, the heat’s turning up on his seat.
If the Maple Leafs miss the playoffs, Maple Leafs management will serve his head on a platter to fans and the media.