The Toronto Maple Leafs became sellers at the NHL trade deadline for the first time in years. General manager Brad Treliving is taking full responsibility for the team’s struggles this season.
“I’ll take responsibility,” Treliving told media, including Sportsnet, following Friday’s deadline. “We met earlier in the year – through about the 20-game mark – where we got off to a slow start. The failures here start with me. And once we get through the end of the season, there’ll be all sorts of evaluation. But to start parsing through it right now … we’ve got games to play.”
Toronto faces the possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.
The Leafs sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 27-25-11 record and 65 points. They’re eight points behind the final wild-card playoff spot.
Treliving moved three forwards before the deadline. The team focused on acquiring draft picks for future seasons.
Trade Deadline Moves
Acquired:
• 2026 3rd-round pick (conditional)
• 2026 4th-round pick
• 2026 5th-round pick (conditional)
• 2027 1st-round pick (conditional)
• 2027 2nd-round pick (conditional)
Traded Away:
• F Bobby McMann
• F Scott Laughton
• F Nicolas Roy
The conditional picks depend on various performance and playoff criteria.
“I know there’s lots of speculation and all sorts of things out there,” Treliving added. “The market speaks. At the end of the day, we were trying to be as active as we could to obtain and acquire as many young assets as we could, and we were able to do what we were able to do.”
Treliving was hired by Toronto in May 2023. He’s currently in his third season as the team’s general manager.
The Leafs have games remaining to potentially make a playoff push. The deadline moves signal a shift toward building for future seasons rather than making a current playoff run.
