Treliving of the Maple Leafs addresses Klingberg’s injury and trades for defence
Brad Treliving is watching the same games as you are, Toronto.
The general manager of the Maple Leafs sees exactly what you do.
After 19 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs (10-6-3, plus-1 goal difference) have produced a very uneven on-ice product. Their defence corps is breaking like dried lips, their goaltending is below league average, and not many of their off-season acquisitions have turned out as expected.
The Leafs just don’t appear to be a championship threat in our opinion at this time.
Though we’ll assume he agrees, the new General Manager is more tactful.
From the manager’s vantage point, we constantly monitor your performance. We’ve been hit or miss, in my opinion. Our game has been a little inconsistent, right? It is a little alarming’, Treliving remarked on Monday at the club’s Etobicoke practise facility during an unplanned scrum.
“My overwhelming theme is, we just got to become more consistent as a group.”
This includes his inconsistent goalie combo of Ilya Samsonov and Joseph Woll as well as his star duo of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, who will be split up for the first game of the season on Tuesday against the visiting Florida Panthers. (Well, all of them except William Nylander, who is still set to walk on July
1.)
Treliving appeared calm and conversational during his nine-minute Q&A inside the Leafs’ dressing room, but the executive made it clear he’d like to import help from the outside and demands better from the existing roster.
Here are the topics Treliving touched on in the nine minutes before his availability was ended by staff:
Is he exploring the trade market in November?
Absolutely. That’s a GM’s job. Always.
Yes, the Maple Leafs are considering the costs associated with giving up additional assets (picks, prospects, players) in exchange for one or more impact defensemen.
Treliving responded, “Because you’re trying to help your team now.” “The idea that you’re always just going to trade yourself out of out of issues isn’t realistic.”
Treliving insisted that they overextend depth blueliners like Simon Benoit and William Lagesson, citing the D corps’ injury rash (Timothy Liljegren, John Klingberg, and Conor Timmins).
Nevertheless, we wanted to test whether we could get stronger in that area. These days, having injuries puts you to the test,” Treliving remarked.
“You have people probably playing higher and more minutes than you want, and they’re hanging in there, but it’s certainly an area we’d like to look at and see if there’s a way to help ourselves.”
It is known that Treliving is interested in Calgary’s blueline rentals, but as the deadline approaches, more trade possibilities will become available.
The satutus of Klingberg and his injured hip
Klingberg, we learned, injured his hip(s) in the Oct. 19 loss in Florida, which helps explains the $4.15-million signing’s struggles.
“This wasn’t something that we knew the player was injured and we went and signed him anyhow. We knew the history of the player [double hip surgery in 2014], but we didn’t anticipate that there was going to be an issue,” Treliving said.
Klingberg is meeting with specialists in New York who will help determine if surgery is necessary for a hip issue that has not improved on its own, despite aggressive treatment.
Treliving is optimistic that the club will have a prognosis by week’s end.
Should Klingberg require season-ending surgery and remain on LTIR, the Leafs can spend some of his cap space elsewhere.
William Nylander’s contract status
From the Leafs’ perspective, nothing has changed on the Nylander front. Though his scorching 12-goal, 27-point showing has only ratcheted up the stock of what should be the most handsome(ly paid) unrestricted free agent of 2024.
“Willy has had a tremendous start to the year. I don’t think this is just a hot start; he’s a really good player,” Treliving said.
“I stated from Day 1, our objective was to get Auston signed — we got him signed. Our objective is to get Willy signed, and we’re working at it.”
Ryan Reaves’ struggles
Treliving knows there are critics of his three-year summertime signing of forward Ryan Reaves, who looks to be drawing back into the lineup Tuesday.
The rugged fourth-liner is a team-worst minus-11 and has been scratched four times 19 games into a $4.05-million contract.
“Reavo will probably be the first to tell you he’s had a tough start,” said Treliving, encouraged that Reaves scored Friday in Chicago. “The thought process behind that [signing] is what he can add to our room. Like a lot of things, I think he can play better. He’s had some bad luck. I know that there’s gets a lot reported about plus/minus and all the rest of it. He knows he can be better. But he’s chewed on some minuses, in my opinion, that aren’t related to him. And sometimes you go through stretches like that. So, hopefully the Chicago game is a good sign to come. But we need more from a lot of guys here right now.”
Goalie woes
That would include Samsonov and Woll, whose combined .892 save percentage ranks 20th league-wide.
“I do think goaltending can clean up a lot of messes for you. But you can also clean up a lot of messes and make the goaltending look better,” Treliving said. “There’s a yin and yang there.
“I will put them in the same category as the rest of the group — there can be some more consistent play.”
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