NHL
Brad Treliving's Maple Leafs are off to a rough start with an 8-9-2 record. Richard Lautens / Toronto Star via Getty Images
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving came out in defence of head coach Craig Berube amid the team’s rough start to the season.
Speaking to the media Tuesday, as he always does at the quarter-mark of the season, Treliving took “full responsibility” for the team’s plight, which has them on pace for just 78 points and sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
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“We’re not where we want to be or where we envision to be,” Treliving said. “Obviously, we’ve underperformed to this point.”
The team’s 8-9-2 record, he added, was an accurate reflection of that performance.
Treliving is particularly troubled by his team’s defensive play, but is also bothered by a lack of “enthusiasm” and an “inconsistency” in effort at times.
The Leafs were too disconnected, he said. The lack of predictability of the night-to-night product was also a source of frustration.
“I think there’s been too much vanilla with our team,” Treliving said. “I think you can count on one hand how many full, complete games we’ve had.”
However, the Leafs GM reaffirmed his faith in the first and only head coach he’s hired in Toronto.
“I believe in Craig and his messaging,” Treliving said. “Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight.”
He has been struggling to figure out, though, why the team has taken such a marked step backward under Berube this season with most of the same parts, minus one superstar in Mitch Marner.
“That’s what keeps me up at night,” he said.
Last year’s Leafs might have surrendered a lot of shot attempts at times, but they weren’t of the same high quality as the attempts the team has allowed most nights this season.
“I’ve got all the faith in our coach right now,” Treliving said, “so I don’t look at that as the issue.”
Treliving said his three primary offseason additions at forward — Dakota Joshua, Nic Roy and Matias Maccelli — haven’t performed up to expectations.
“They need to be better,” he said.
Treliving wouldn’t reveal much about his plans for altering the roster through trade, or whether he would sacrifice future assets to do so, but he hinted at the need to inject more puck-moving ability on the back end.
Troy Stecher was claimed off waivers last week as a stopgap solution.
“The reality of the business is you’re not trading your way out of problems,” Treliving said. “We’re not just gonna go panic and start throwing things overboard just to do something.”
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“Put anybody in the uniform,” he added, “and (we’re) playing the way we’re playing, we’re probably gonna have the same result.”
Treliving brought up the flood of injuries that have ravaged the roster of late, but said they weren’t an excuse for the team’s poor play. He didn’t offer a definitive timeline on Chris Tanev, but said he didn’t think captain Auston Matthews would be out for “too, too long.”
At minimum, Matthews would remain out through Thursday.
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Jonas Siegel is a staff writer on the Maple Leafs for The Athletic. Jonas previously covered the Leafs for TSN and AM 640. He was also the national hockey writer for the Canadian Press. Follow Jonas on Twitter @jonassiegel
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