If Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving were to quit today, he would go down as one of the worst general managers in team history.
Brad Treliving would not be considered with the likes of Punch Imlach, Pat Quinn, Conn Smythe, Cliff Fletcher or Kyle Dubas. He would be ranked instead with the worst of the worst Toronto Maple Leafs GMs - Dave Nonis and John Ferguson Jr.
But he change that. The Brad Treliving story hasn't been written yet.
And, if Mr. Treliving can overcome his terrible fear of making trades - understandable, since his last major trade was the Matt Tkachuk Trade, and that is one of the single most lopsided trades in NHL history - he can redeem himself and alter his reputation for the better.
But he's got to get down to business, and the sooner the better.
It's time for the Toronto Maple Leafs to FINALLY make a trade
I'm not talking about sending Timothy Liljegren to Dallas for a 3rd round pick. I'm talking about a genuine blockbuster, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Leafs brought in Ryan O'Reilly.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are stale. Their team, their make-up, their identity, strategy and style are all out of date, past their best before, and curdled.
Craig Berube isn't going to save them. Chris Tanev wasn't the answer.
The Toronto Maple Leafs can stick with the status quo and everyone involved in making decisions will be fired at the end of the season when Keith Pelley decides that enough is enough.
They can go down like that, or Brad can overcome his fear of Tkachuks and throw down on a franchise altering blockbuster trade for an elite number-one defenseman.
I'm talking about something on the scale of Mitch Marner for Miro Heiskanen. That's just an example. I don't really think that is even a possibility, but I'm just throwing out an example of what I'd like to see.
Something on par with Dion Phaneuf, Mats Sundin or Doug Gilmour landing in Toronto.
Brad Treliving is overdue for his signature move, and if he isn't going to make it, he should resign and get out of the way for someone who will.
The time for change was last summer. Failing that, it was this summer. But hey, it's never to late to start over. The Toronto Maple Leafs are going nowhere.
Brad, you're up.