The Clock Is Ticking For for Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving

Brad Treliving has has a very up-and-down season in his first year as Toronto Maple Leafs GM.

Many of his moves have not worked out, most notably John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves. While some of his other moves have been great value, including Simon Benoit and Martin Jones.

One thing he has done well has been giving out 1-year contracts, minimizing a lot risk when it comes to his contracts.

While his trade for Ilya Lyubushkin was a fine start, he'll need to do a lot more if he wants to give his Toronto Maple Leafs team a better shot at the Stanley Cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Clock Is Ticking For Brad Treliving

Earlier this week, Chris Tanev, Anthony Mantha, and more recently, Vladimir Tarasenko, were all traded to fellow Stanley Cup contenders, Dallas, Vegas, and Florida, respectively.

If we look at this point last year, Kyle Dubas had already acquired Ryan O'Reilly, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, Erik Gustaffson, and others. And while there is still some time left before the deadline, Treliving needs to make another trade (or two) if the Leafs want a real shot at a deep playoff run.

With the exception of the 2022 season, Treliving has never really been a big buyer at the deadline. To be fair though, in his tenure as the GM of the Calgary Flames, the team never really was considered a "contender".

Except for the previously mentioned 2022 season, where Treliving acquired Tyler Toffoli, Calle Jarnkrok, and others, and the 2019 season, where the Flames finished atop the Pacific Division in both seasons, Treliving has also never been the GM of a consistent Cup contender.

But now he has the Leafs, who have been a playoff team every season since 2016-17. If Treliving wants to give his team a legit shot at the Cup (and keep his job), he has to make another big trade.

He does have some time, but the clock is ticking (literally), if he wants to make his mark as Leafs GM.