GM Brad Treliving joined TSN1050 to discuss Martin Jones clearing waivers, Fraser Minten making the Leafs roster to start the season, and the process of getting the roster set and the cap books in order for opening day.
When you are walking around Toronto interacting with fans, how often does the goal song come up?
Treliving: It actually hasn’t. I have been asked about it before, and my comment is that I don’t know what it is or care what it is. I just want it to be played a lot. Hopefully, we hear it a lot.
You know people are passionate about their team when there is lots of talk about the goal song.
Have you noticed a difference in being a part of this team in this market compared to being a part of a team in a market like Calgary?
Treliving: Certainly, that sweater and this team — and I mean this in a positive way — there is a weight to it. There is an enormity to what the following is of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I do feel that.
Working in Canada — and specifically Calgary — was an awesome experience. It is a great place. It is a passionate fan base. I think it has prepared me well.
Certainly, we haven’t played any games yet. The live bullets start tomorrow. As in any season, there are going to be challenges and adversity. We just have to stay even-keeled and work with the group to continue to push forward.
In a market like this, there is a lot of noise. That is one of the things that makes it so special. We are excited about it. I am like everybody else; I am looking forward to getting started.
Can you take us through what the process was like with Fraser Minten surprising everyone and earning his way onto the opening-day roster?
Treliving: Coming into camp, I would be lying to you if I said we thought Fraser was going to start the year with us.
You go into camp, and there are sort of three stages of it. Being a new guy, you are trying to figure out everybody, but ultimately, you are trying to see if the big guys get going and get a little sense of them; they are ultimately using preseason and camp to sort of knock some rust off. You are seeing those players that have been in the organization before and hoping they have taken a step. I didn’t have a baseline for those guys, but you are hoping those guys are all taking a step, have had good summers, and are progressing and developing.
With the new young players, you are getting a sense of them. You are always hopeful that you are going to have a good story — that someone is going to show well and you are going to get a surprise — and that is what Fraser was. From day one of our Traverse City tournament, he just started stacking good day on good day on good day. We tested him with a lot of stuff. He played a lot of preseason games — he played six — and he just kept checking boxes.
To me, when you get to that stage with where we are at right now, you are trying to find players who can help you win. I have been honest to say I am always hesitant with a 19-year-old player. You are trying to do what is best in the long term for the player, but he deserves to be here.
I caution everybody that it is one day. We all get crazed about the opening day roster, but the opening day roster is probably going to change in about 24 hours. It is about coming in and earning your next day. That is what I have talked to Fraser about — earning your next day. So far, he has done that.
Whether it is now or in the future, the good news is that we have a really good player coming to us.
Fraser Minten talked about receiving a phone call from you letting him know he made the opening roster. How gratifying is it for you to give this young kid this opportunity in that phone call?
Treliving: Those are exciting. You know the work that they have put in. There is everything that goes into training camp. You are hoping to make the team. You have all the anxiety of whether you are still around, the excitement, the nerves, and all of that. When you can tell a player he is staying here, that is certainly a fun call to make.
I had Fraser in my office yesterday. We were going through everything, and we called his mom and dad. We let them know and asked if they had any plans for Wednesday night; there is a hockey game going on, and could we could get them out there for it? Those are the neat things you get to do in this job.
The thing with Fraser is that even talking to him and giving him that news, the biggest quality that has allowed him to be here this long is his brain. He is a very mature young man. He keeps everything in perspective. As excited as he was and thrilled he was to get the news that he is starting here, he understands the daily process. The other day was a good day to be excited. Now he has to continue forward.
He is a really intelligent young guy. He is a very mature, smart young man. Those are fun days to have and fun calls to make.
You must be happy that Martin Jones is still a member of the Maple Leafs after passing through waivers on Monday.
Treliving: For sure. You need depth throughout the lineup. The 82-game season is a grind. We used to talk about how it wasn’t that long ago that you had a lot of goaltenders playing north of 60 games. To me, it has become more and more of a two-goaltender league. Quite frankly, we were looking at the stats the other day, and all but six teams used upward of three goaltenders last year.
You need that depth. We signed Martin because he has a lot of experience in this league. I like where Sammy’s game is at from last year. He has had a good camp. Joe [Woll] was a young guy who we think is ready to grab a little bit more. To have that depth in goal, you hope and pray for health, but the depth is really important. It is someone who has played some games.
We have some terrific young goaltenders in the pipeline here who are developing, but at that position, it takes time. We want to make sure we are doing the right thing by the player development.
As I told Martin, there is a good chance, with the way this league works, we are going to need him. We are very fortunate to have that depth.
There was some talk that William Nylander would be open to continuing contract negotiations through the season. That is not always the way players and teams like to operate. Is there an update on the negotiations between you and Nylander?
Treliving: We haven’t signed a contract yet, so that is probably my update right now.
William is a terrific player. He is a star player. We want to extend Willy. I have had lots of talks with Willy. He loves Toronto. He loves the franchise. He loves the city and the people. That is a good place to start.
We are not going to talk about it publicly. Our focus is going to be on the ice. We will work in the background on the business side. Obviously, Willy’s attention is going to be on getting started tomorrow and having a terrific year. We will keep plugging away, and certainly, once we have good news, we will be sure to let everyone know.
We are not going to do a daily update on it. Hopefully, we can get to a point where we have good news. He is a terrific player, and we are hopeful he will be with us for a long time.
The Maple Leafs are one of nine teams who are over the cap. How fortunate do you feel as a GM to have someone like Brandon Pridham around to just make the numbers work so you are cap-compliant? Is that something you could do on your own?
Treliving: No [laughs]. We are very fortunate. I have known Brandon for a long time. Our relationship goes back to when Brandon was at the league and I was working in Phoenix. To me, he is best in class.
There has been smoke billowing out of his office the last few days with that calculator. He is doing his thing. We spent a lot of time in the last little bit trying to get our roster set knowing some of the challenges that we have cap-wise and with some injuries. Brandon is the very best at his position. Not only myself but our whole organization is fortunate to have him.
