Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is thoroughly impressed with the offseason moves the team made.
After Toronto was eliminated from the playoffs, general manager Brad Treliving said the team needed a DNA change. In the offseason, the Maple Leafs made some major moves, which included seeing Mitch Marner leave to go to the Vegas Golden Knights.
As Maple Leafs camp opened, Berube was thrilled with the job his general manager did this summer.
“We lost a player, a real good player here, but we added three new players to our lineup, and I’m excited about that,” Berube said. “I know Tre talked about DNA last year, and I thought he did a hell of a job changing that over the summer, adding these players. So I’m excited to see where they fit in and how they look. It’s a change, we all know that. Losing Mitch and bringing in three new players, it’s a change, for sure. What excites me is I don’t have to hear ‘Core Four’ anymore.”
Toronto’s notable acquisitions in the offseason were adding Nic Roy, Mattias Maccelli, and Dakota Joshua to add more depth to the forward group.
Although the Maple Leafs lost a key player in Marner, Toronto is likely a deeper team and a harder team to play against, which Berube is excited about.
Maple Leafs GM Said Team Needed a DNA Change
After Toronto had another early playoff exit, Treliving made it clear that changes would be happening to the roster.
Treliving made a bold comment, saying he would be looking to make DNA changes to the roster.
“There will be change moving forward. That’s just the nature of the business,” Treliving said. “We’ve gotta find a way to create the team, both between the ears and personnel, to be our best at the critical moments. There’s some DNA that needs to change in our team.”
After the comment, many expected the Maple Leafs to be one of the more active teams this offseason, and that is what happened.
But, whether or not those changes will reflect in a better season is to be determined. Toronto is coming off a year where the Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division.
Toronto Could Make More Moves
Although the Maple Leafs have been active this offseason, Treliving isn’t ruling out the team making more moves.
The Maple Leafs have an excess of forwards who could be dealt, while Toronto could still use a top-six winger.
“It’s not been from a lack of trying — there’s just not a lot of them out there that everybody’s willing to hand over to you,” Treliving said. “Today’s no different than yesterday or the day before — you’re always looking to try to improve your team. League-wide, it was a slower summer. … There wasn’t a ton of movement. In most cases, teams kept their players.
“It’s a cliche, but wherever we can try to improve our team, we’re going to try to improve our team. We would like to add in that location, but again, it’s trying to find that player that is available and at [the right] cost,” Treliving added.
The Maple Leafs open their season on Oct. 8 against the Montreal Canadiens.
Maple Leafs Coach Praises GM For Offseason Moves