On Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs made their first major shakeup of the organization by handing GM Brad Treliving his papers after just less than three years with the club. With the way that the Maple Leafs had been performing this season, Toronto fans fully expected some wholesale changes to happen. It has now started, coming from the top of Leafs management.
During his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Treliving had made various moves that he hoped would have helped taken the team to the next level. Some of them may have worked out to some extent, but there had been a few disastrous ones that likely ended up costing him his job. As a result, here we will take a look at the 3 worst moves that Treliving made as the Leafs GM.
Both Scott Laughton trades combined
At last year’s trade deadline, the Maple Leafs were looking to bolster their roster ahead of the playoffs when Treliving went out to grab Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers along with a 2025 fourth-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pick in exchange for promising prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a 2027 conditional first-round pick. Laughton had underwhelmed for the most part during his tenure with Toronto, albeit some flashes of brilliance at time this season when the rest of the team was struggling on the bottom six. As a result, he didn’t provide that impact to help the Leafs to greater playoff success. Grebenkin, on the other hand, has already become a Flyers fan favourite in his rookie season with the club.
Laughton was ultimately moved by Treliving at this year’s trade deadline to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2026 conditional third-round pick. So essentially the Maple Leafs gave away a top prospect and a first-round pick for a third, fourth and sixth-round pick. That math doesn’t add up no matter how you put it, making it a complete calculation failure on Treliving’s part.
The trade for Brandon Carlo
If you thought the Laughton move was bad, the Leafs GM acquisition of defenseman Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins during last season’s trade deadline is even worse. In the deal, the Maple Leafs gave up top prospect Fraser Minten, a 2026 conditional first-round pick AND a 2025 fourth-round pick. Unfortunately for Toronto, Carlo has been a shell of his former dominant self seen during his prime with the Bruins since arriving in town, making his impact minimal on the ice for the Maple Leafs.
As for Boston, Minten has flourished with his new team and has emerged now as the Bruins’ top line center in just his rookie season. Not only that, they also still have a potential first-rounder to pick this coming draft if the Leafs don’t bottom out enough soon. In doing so, the Bruins went from non-contenders last season instantly back into contention this year and likely now for the foreseeable future. In terms of the Leafs, it looks like the horrendous move has ultimately set them back a few years now for sure.
The letting go of Mitch Marner
Finally, the nail in the coffin for Treliving likely came from how he dealt with Mitch Marner and his eventual departure. The Leafs GM had all the opportunity to maximize the potential return when Marner didn’t have his no-movement clause kick in during the summer of 2023. If Treliving really didn’t believe that the star winger can help Toronto reach the Promised Land at the time, that was the best time to move on from him and reap the benefits of a huge haul.
Instead, Treliving held on to Marner, and two more failed Stanley Cup runs later, Marner became expendable as he headed into free agency last summer. The Leafs GM thought he managed to save some face by extracting Nicolas Roy from the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal. Unfortunately, the Maple Leafs have never fully recovered since the move, putting together their worst season in ten years as a result.Â
Some could debate that Marner didn’t have his usual productive year with the Golden Knights this season, averaging just a point per game for the season. Nevertheless, without the star winger’s impact both on offense and defense, as well as on special teams for the Leafs, Toronto looked inept at times throughout the 2025-26 season as a result. By letting the potential franchise difference maker go, Treliving likely cannot be forgiven for his biggest mistake with the Maple Leafs and thus, became destined to go too.