{"id":532914,"date":"2026-03-31T14:27:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/532914\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T14:27:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:27:16","slug":"we-just-didnt-deliver-brad-trelivings-firing-shocks-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/532914\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We just didn’t deliver’: Brad Treliving’s firing shocks Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 Ironic, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> waited until GM Brad Treliving got fired to summon one of their snottiest efforts in years.<\/p>\n

Symbolism was in much greater supply than sympathy Monday night at Honda Center, where the vengeful, leader-less Leafs played the aggressor in an 85-penalty-minute affair and rallied late to edge the Anaheim Ducks 5-4 in overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody wanted a piece, to be honest,\u201d Matthew Knies said. \u201cWe had a resiliency, and everyone was fighting, playing hard, physical. Yeah, I thought we were hard to play against today, and that\u2019s why we came out the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

A flicker of the change Treliving was aiming for in Toronto\u2019s DNA, yet only when the season has been labelled DNR.<\/p>\n

Max Domi \u2014 the Maple Leaf angriest over the club\u2019s lack of response to Radko Gudas\u2019s season-ending knee on Auston Matthews three weeks back \u2014 filled Gudas in off the opening draw, then later picked a scrap with defenceman Pavel Mintyukov.<\/p>\n

Jake McCabe went after the Ducks captain, too, as did the overzealous, under-used Michael Pezzetta. Domi and Pezzetta got the boot, and the Leafs piled up 61 PIMs as they acquired one pound of flesh and two points Treliving could\u2019ve used three months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for Brad and his family. You never like to hear that or see that. And it was tough,\u201d said a sombre Craig Berube, who broke the news to his players in a meeting shortly before puck drop. \u201cIt\u2019s still difficult right now for me, but that\u2019s the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t live up to expectations this year, and that\u2019s what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thing is, the night Gudas went untouched, the night the Leafs have been so desperate to scrub since, represents rock bottom for the Era of Treliving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here was an executive dealt a tricky hand \u2014 too many no-move clauses already in place, too few draft picks and prospects coming \u2014 and passively let his chips dwindle away with the hope.<\/p>\n

Perhaps because of the organization’s blind faith that they had enough talent to survive, Treliving was allowed to oversee a second troublesome trade deadline but not the conclusion of this, the most disappointing campaign of the Maple Leafs\u2019 109 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrad Treliving is a man that we all have deep respect and appreciation for, both as a hockey executive and as a person, but it was determined that the club must chart a new course under different leadership,\u201d MLSE president Keith Pelley stated, in a release that dropped less than two hours before the puck. (Pelley will hold a press conference Tuesday in Toronto at 2 p.m. ET.)<\/p>\n

Treliving had stopped travelling with the team, and Pelley had begun conducting an internal review on his GM\u2019s operations. Treliving, who still has one more season on his contract, is believed to have felt uncomfortable twisting in the wind and pushed for a decision.<\/p>\n

That decision came down via a curiously timed press release sent out 75 minutes before the most emotional game left on the team\u2019s calendar.<\/p>\n

Knies, a nice value signing by Treliving, called the news \u201cabrupt\u201d and said he would always cherish their relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

William Nylander, to whom Treliving granted the richest contract in franchise history, chose \u201csad.\u201d<\/p>\n

John Tavares, who took less than market value last summer because he believed in Treliving\u2019s vision, used the word\u00a0shocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a real tough one,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cBrad brought us all in here, tremendous belief in us, and we just didn\u2019t deliver. And it falls on us, starting with myself, and just not playing consistent enough, and what we need to do to be a better hockey team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The last time Treliving spoke to reporters in Toronto was minutes after his underwhelming returns for Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton. He looked like he\u2019d just seen a ghost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll take responsibility for our season,\u201d Treliving said on\u00a0March 6<\/a>. \u201cWe got off to a poor start. (There are) some roster construction issues, lack of consistency, the ability to maintain any kind of level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injuries didn\u2019t help. But even healthy, the Maple Leafs lack puck-movers from the back end, playmakers in the top six, and that instinctual connectedness that binds true contenders between the front office and the bench, the bench and the skaters, and the amongst the players themselves.<\/p>\n

Nylander: \u201cJust shows that, like what we did this year wasn\u2019t good enough. And that sucks, because that comes on the players too. So, it’s not just his fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berube: \u201cWe wanted to build something here \u2014 and did last year. We were right there, but we didn\u2019t succeed. And this year we obviously dropped off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morgan Rielly: \u201cHow I feel is that it\u2019s on the players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rest assured, Treliving\u2019s dismissal is but the first shoe to drop here. And with a qualified coach like Bruce Cassidy joining the accomplished Peter DeBoer on the unemployment line this week, Berube is in jeopardy too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think about it, guys. I mean, I really don\u2019t,\u201d Berube said. \u201cYou probably think I\u2019m bulls——- you, but I\u2019m not. I feel for Brad right now and his family. That\u2019s what I feel right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Treliving is a good man, a good hockey man. That\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

Also true: Treliving was not good enough at this job to leave the Maple Leafs in a better spot than he inherited them.<\/p>\n

And, at least publicly, he presented no plan to correct the mess. Internally and externally, faith in a Treliving-led turnaround dwindled.<\/p>\n

Changes are afoot. This is only the beginning.<\/p>\n

More good men are going to find themselves not working for the Maple Leafs soon.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Skating at something less than 100 per cent, Gudas logged just 7:10, mostly as a flaming-orange target. But the captain\u2019s respect within the Honda Center\u2019s home dressing room elevated by his decision to stand in there and take his lumps.<\/p>\n

Gudas didn\u2019t so much as attempt a meaningful punch when Domi jumped him, seemingly accepting his penance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think more so for his conscience having to hold onto it for a whole other year, you know?\u201d Brandon Carlo said at morning skate, when informed Gudas was going to dress.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe definitely wants to be out there because I think he recognizes that he was the one who made the hit. So, I don\u2019t think he wants his teammates out there answering for it. He would rather be out there to deal with it himself. I think that’s a good leadership move, for sure. But it is an interesting situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rielly says there were conversations over the past couple days among the Leafs regarding who would get first crack at Gudas. Max Domi was the guy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a character human, and he\u2019s fearless, and it speaks to all that,\u201d Reilly said. \u201cThat\u2019s who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 William Nylander\u2019s four-point night vaulted him ahead of father Michael (679 points) as the highest-scoring Nylander in NHL history (683).<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Tavares\u2019s two-goal effort gives him 28 on the year. He passes the injured Matthews for the team lead in goals.<\/p>\n

\u2022 When Nylander interfered with Ducks goalie Ville Husso and a scrum ensued around the Anaheim crease, Anthony Stolarz wasted no time skating to centre ice. He later bumped his counterpart as they crossed paths during a stoppage.<\/p>\n

Last week, Stolarz didn\u2019t shy away from the fact that he wants a goalie goal.<\/p>\n

Now, we know he wants a goalie fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And Husso \u2014 three inches shorter and 43 pounds lighter \u2014 has zero interest in granting the big man\u2019s wish.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Whoa, boy, can Cutter Gauthier rip a shot.<\/p>\n

The sophomore\u2019s first-period snipe gives him 38 on the season. No one younger than the 22-year-old has that many tucks this season. Unfortunately for the Ducks, Gauthier left the game shortly after he scored with an upper-body injury and did not return.<\/p>\n

Wonderful touch by game ops, who blast O.T. Genesis\u2019s \u201cCut It\u201d to punctuate Gauthier\u2019s goals.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u2022 For those wondering, Matthews is rehabbing from MCL surgery in Toronto.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just saw him before we left (Friday),\u201d Berube said. \u201cHe seemed in pretty good spirits, talking to him. But it\u2019s tough when that happens.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be fine. He\u2019ll grind through it and do what he needs to do to get ready.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 Ironic, isn\u2019t it? The Toronto Maple Leafs waited until GM Brad Treliving got fired to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5106],"tags":[5,20,5172,4,66,31,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-532914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-maple-leafs","10":"tag-mapleleafs","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","14":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116324259875454409","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/98129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}