Leafs GM Brad Treliving Photo credit: Maple Leafs

With training camp approaching, we take a look at some of the best and worst moves by Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving this off-season.

An NHL GM’s job can be a thankless one, as there is only one winner each and every year. Just because a team doesn’t win the Stanley Cup, it doesn’t mean we should look at the moves the GMs made as automatic failures or blunders. Some moves are smart and calculated, and some not so much. It’s important to be able to differentiate the good from the bad, take the good and leave the bad, learn from it and move on. Here are a few of the good and bad moves made by Brad Treliving this summer.

GOOD: THE CRAIG BERUBE HIRE

Brad Treliving's Best and Worst Moves As the Toronto Maple Leafs GM

 

If it wasn’t evident before another first-round playoff exit, the Leafs needed a fresh voice behind the bench. Treliving wasted little time making that change, letting Sheldon Keefe go in favour of the veteran Craig Berube.

Berube brings a much tougher coaching and playing style that the Leafs will have to adjust to. While they may struggle more in the regular season with it, his style is more suited to playoff hockey where games are more physical and much tighter. How Berube deploys his roster and how players respond will be something keep an eye on throughout training camp and the season.

GOOD: THE CHRIS TANEV ACQUISITION

For years, Leafs fans have been begging for a top-pairing defenseman to play with Morgan Rielly and they finally got their wish when they acquired and signed Chris Tanev to a 6-year deal with a $4.5M cap hit.

Many aren’t big fans of the cap hit, or the length of the deal, but with the Leafs in win-now mode, the 34-year-old is expected to play a huge role for the team this season. The belief is that he will alleviate some of the defensive pressure on Rielly which could lead to a breakout season for him.

BAD: THE JANI HAKANPAA DISASTER

3 Key Moves for Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving This Offseason

On the bad side of the off-season, the worst move so far for Treliving was jumping the gun on another injured Dallas Stars defenseman when he reportedly signed Jani Hakanpaa at the beginning of free agency. The reported knee issues that have followed have led to the Leafs now have a hole on the blueline.

Treliving didn’t learn from last off-season’s mistake of signing John Klingberg which ultimately cost him signing Matt Dumba for less. This time around however, the Leafs were aware of the issues but still chose to offer Hakanpaa the contract instead of a healthy defenseman.

BAD: ALLOWING TYLER BERTUZZI TO WALK FOR NOTHING

Although the Leafs and Tyler Bertuzzi negotiated down to the wire, the two sides were unable to reach an extension. Bertuzzi ultimately signed in Chicago on a 4-year deal, leaving a hole in the Leafs’ forward group — within the top-six, no-less — and so far the Leafs have failed to replace not just his 21 goals but also the sandpaper that he brings to the lineup.

The off-season not over yet, so Treliving could still right the ship on two of his worst moves this off-season, but overall, it has been a successful one for the Leafs. The “major” change didn’t happen but there were a lot of smaller changes to the organization that should help the team when push comes to shove.