While on the way toward missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a decade, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided to make a major organizational change at the executive level.
They dismissed general manager Brad Treliving on March 30, and eventually named John Chayka, the former general manager of the Arizona Coyotes, as his official successor; team icon and former captain Mats Sundin joined the club in an executive position as well.
The club has also terminated head coach Craig Berube; the search for his replacement is ongoing.
Treliving broke his silence for the first time since being dismissed by the Maple Leafs and explored a variety of topics, including what he thinks the future of the longest-tenured member of the roster is.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving Speaks About Morgan Rielly
Speaking during a guest appearance on TSN’s OverDrive, Treliving spoke on whether or not he thought that the Leafs could move on from Rielly, who does have a no-trade clause as part of his contract.
“I still think there is a lot of game there,” Treliving said. “It is something Morgan and I talked a lot about when we were together.”
“Listen, he has been there a long time. There is a heaviness that goes with it. He is a guy who feels a real responsibility in Toronto. No question, in the last couple of years, he would probably be the first to tell you that it hasn’t been perfect by any stretch, but I still think there is a lot of game left in Morgan.”
He concluded:
“As you get older, you have to do different things in terms of your conditioning level and how you take care of yourself,” he said. “You even see it here. When you get him around a different environment, he has been really solid.”
Rielly is the longest-tenured member of the Leafs, having been selected in the first round (fifth overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. He’s played in 951 career games, scoring 98 goals with 451 assists along with a -41 rating and 279 penalty minutes.
He’s also added 15 goals with 32 assists in 70 postseason games, with a plus-12 rating and 35 penalty minutes.
Brad Treliving Took Responsibility For Toronto’s Shortcoming
While it was disappointing for Treliving to be let go by the club he was hired to run in 2023, he acknowledged that he had to take responsibility for their shortcomings
“When you’re the manager, you take responsibility for it,” Treliving said. “So the responsibility is mine.
“But I always say management, coaching, players, we all share. We all have 33% of the pie. You can look and say there was injuries, but everybody goes through injuries. There was a fall-off there.”
He also voiced concern about the “buy in” level of the players this season.
“We didn’t have the buy-in. You can debate how we played a little bit,” he said. “Biggest challenge for me, and I talked a little bit about it in November, was even the games we won on the scoreboard we weren’t winning, whether it be shot share, controlling play, driving play.”
Ex-Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving Gets Honest On Morgan Reilly’s Future