In an end-of-season press conference, General Manager Brad Treliving discussed the changes wrought by Brendan Shanahan’s departure, the team’s playoff disappointment against Florida, Mitch Marner and John Tavares’ futures in Toronto, Matthew Knies’ RFA status, and the team’s possession numbers in the playoffs.
Treliving’s statement on Brendan Shanahan’s departure
Treliving: I want to first off speak about Brendan (Shanahan). There has been change over the course of the last few days, and it has been a difficult few days.
Brendan is the person who brought me in here. I really enjoyed my time with Brendan. We had a strong working relationship that grew into a real strong friendship. I enjoyed our chats and all of the interaction we had with him.
From my view, Brendan did a lot of good things here. He did a lot of good things with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He built a really solid foundation.
I want to wish him, Catherine, and his family all the very best. He is a good man. I wish him well. There will be a next challenge for him, wherever he chooses that to be, and it is a friendship I will maintain moving forward.
Treliving’s statement on the 2024-25 regular season
Treliving: We’ll start at the end. We fell short of where we wanted to be, and we fell short of where I thought we could be.
Really, if you look back to last summer, we made a change and brought in Craig (Berube). Really, the thought process behind that is that I felt there was a style of play that we needed to get to. It is a style of play that I feel gives you the best chance to have success. We’re seeing it in the playoffs. We see it prevalent in our division.
It is a direct style. You have to become a forechecking team. You have to limit risk; there is always risk in this game, but you are trying to reduce risk. I think that gives you the best chance to win at the most important time.
With that thought, I went through the process and found what I thought was the right coach to coach this team. I am proud of the work that Craig and his staff did this year. A lot goes into changing how you play, and I think the team did a really good job with it.
The next area we focused on last summer was our defense — Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jani Hakanpaa, Philippe Myers, and then Brandon Carlo at the trade deadline. We wanted to have a long defense, a rangy defense, make it hard around our net, and have a “defending” defense. You need to move pucks, and that is an area that we have to continue to improve in. I think all of those players had a positive impact.
In Jani’s case, we knew going into the summer, in talking to him, that there was risk. We went through that process. We took a swing, and it didn’t work out. If there are times to take swings, we are going to try to take swings. It didn’t work out, but I think that defense and those guys — even in Phillipe Myers’ case, in the role that he played for our team — did a really good job.
We then looked at our goaltending. We made a decision to move on from Ilya Samsonov last year. We feel we have a real developing young goaltender in Joe Woll. We looked at it and said, “We need to partner him in a tandem with somebody.” We brought in [Anthony Stolarz]. Together, they were excellent, and they both had their own individual times when they went on runs. Anthony had the injury for a couple of months — two and a half months or so — and Joe carried the mail for us. That was a positive for us. It was a good partnership.
And then there was supplementing the forward group. You are not going to overhaul your team. You make decisions about where you are going to spend your cap dollars. We wanted to add some players who would fit the style we wanted to play. I thought bringing in Max Pacioretty, Steven Lorentz, and Scotty Laughton fit well into our group.
There are ups and downs in every season. There is adversity in every season. As I talked about, I thought our team was really committed in terms of their work ethic, their buy-in, and changing how they play. There are lots of positives in the regular season. We overcame a lot of injuries, specifically up front and with Anthony in net.
108 points, the Atlantic Division regular-season title, and fourth overall. We set a record for most road wins for the franchise. Our focus isn’t on regular season success, but it has to be recognized, and I want to recognize the players and staff for their work.
There are mile markers in a season when you are trying to determine where your team is and if you are ready to win. Two stood out for me throughout the season, both in and out of the 4 Nations. February was a difficult month for us travel-wise. We went out west just before the 4 Nations. Coming out of the 4 Nations, we had a home game against Carolina and were back on the road. In both cases, going in and coming out, I liked where our team was at. Down the stretch, we went 13-2-1. I thought we had prepared ourselves to go into the playoffs.
Treliving’s statement on the 2025 playoffs
Treliving: I always look at three things in the playoffs, and the most important thing in the playoffs is the critical moments. We can sit here, debate, and arm-wrestle over where certain critical moments are in a series, but it is tough to chase a series, so there is the start of a series. There are critical games within a series, and then there are the finishing games.
In round one, we played a really good team in Ottawa. That’s a good team. I don’t think they get enough credit. They have been building for a while. They have done a really good job there. It was a very good opponent.
We had a really good start in that series, winning two at home. It was a tight game in Game 3, and we won an overtime game. We were poor in Game 5 — that is a critical game, and we were poor in Game 5. Give our guys a lot of credit in Game 6, winning a tight game on the road to close out a series in another critical game. Credit to the guys in that series.
The Florida series — first, I want to give a lot of credit to Florida. I haven’t had a chance publicly to say that there is a reason why they are the champion. There is a reason why they are going back again for their third crack at it. They have set the bar in our division. They have set the bar in our league. That is what we aspire to.
We come back to the critical moments again. We had a good start. I know we all talk about Game 5 and Game 7, and we will get to that. In my mind, I believe a big moment in that series is Game 3. You are playing against the Stanley Cup champions. You have a chance to get them on the mat. We were up 2-0. We were up 3-1. In a critical moment, we weren’t able to close that out. It was not to close out the series, but we know what the odds and percentages are with a 3-0 lead if we were to get ourselves into that position.
We were still in the series; it was 2-1 against the champs. Game 5 was here. Critical moment. The series is tied. We weren’t good enough. We weren’t good enough in the moment. We go into Game 6, and all the credit to the staff and players for winning a big Game 6 on the road. We come back for Game 7…
That series is going to stay with me for a long time. The way it ended will stay with me for a long time. It would stay with me if it were 2-1 in triple overtime. When you think you have a chance to win and you don’t, it stays with you.
As I review this, and it dovetails into how we go forward, I first give a lot of credit to Florida. Your opponent or enemy has a say in things. If you look at that critical moment in Game 7, I don’t care if you are playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs or whatever sport you’re playing, champions have the ability to be calm and at their very best when it matters most. That is an area that we have to improve in.
There have been steps. I know the history. I have been here two years, and we lost a Game 7 in round one and a Game 7 in round two. I know what has happened before as well. But we have to find a way to push through at the most critical moments. That is the challenge in front of us.
Treliving’s statement on offseason changes
Treliving: Moving forward, we have a good team. We have changed a lot in the last 12 months. There will be change moving forward. That is just the nature of the business. No team comes back the same.
Not all change, might I add, is personnel. There will be changes in personnel. I have talked about changes in the way we play. We have to continue to change and evolve our mindset. We have to find a way to create the team, both between the ears and personnel, to be our very best at the most critical moments.
There is some DNA that has to change in our team. If you keep getting to the same result, and that is not to dismiss a lot of the good that happened leading up to it, there is some DNA that needs to change.
That is on me now going forward, and my staff. We have been done (the season) for a little bit now, but we have now started the planning. It is early for putting together our team for 2025-26.
Our schedule going forward: We are starting our pro scouting meetings, and it is our first time getting together now with our staff to evaluate our team and the changes that need to be made. We will go to the combine next week and have the draft coming up. We will begin the process for the 2025-26 season.
The one thing I do want to add: As I said, that Game 7 is going to live with me. There are times when you worry about where the team is at, but I felt really good that morning with the vibe around the team. And then we had the result that we had. That is the challenge that is in front of us.
Q&A: Treliving on Marner, Tavares, Knies, team culture + more
What does it mean to change the DNA of the group? How do you accomplish that?
Treliving: It is a good question. To me, when it matters the most, you have to embrace it. With all of the challenges in front of you — a good opponent, the stage, and what is at stake — you have to find a way to embrace that moment and ultimately succeed in it.
The margins are thin. The margins are really, really thin. When I say that, I don’t believe you have to go and change 20 players. It is not always about that. It is about what we can do to help our guys, what we can do to find guys who can help, and if there is a change to be made to our team, how do we bring people in who have a mindset like that? It is really embracing those big moments and finding a way — whatever that way is — to get through it and have success.
I know we clump the whole group together from the last number of years. There has been a lot of change. This team had a lot of change from last year. But when you run up against that wall, and it happens time and again, it leaves some scars. There is experience you get from the more times you go through things, but ultimately, you may have to change something.
Those are the things we have to continue to look at. I don’t have the answers today, and that is not me being cute with you guys or deflecting. We are in the process right now of asking these questions of ourselves. How do we get there?
We are in an emotional business. Our fans are emotional. I am emotional. Nobody wears it harder than me. That is what makes this place so great, but you have to step back, exhale, and make calculated decisions based on the best information you have.
I don’t know if that answered the question, but it seemed like I talked for a long time.
Mitch Marner has been a big part of the team’s DNA during the regular season and what it has been able to do there. A big part of the team’s DNA in the playoffs is that it hasn’t been able to get past the next step in the playoffs. Can he be a part of this moving forward? Do you want to re-sign Mitch?
Treliving: This isn’t a deflection. I think Mitch is a tremendous player. We have talked throughout the year, and you’ve heard me speak. I think he is a star.
We are in that process right now. I had a meeting with all of the players individually in our exit meetings. Mitch and I had a discussion. It is emotional right now, right? My discussion with Mitch was about taking a step back and taking a deep breath. We have to decompress a little bit.
With Brendan’s situation, it was a bit of a curveball that took a couple of days to get through. We are going to meet as a staff. I am going to be in touch with Mitch’s representatives — and all of our players’ representatives — and determine what is best.
Now, Mitch has a say in this as well, right? This isn’t the world according to Brad. I think he is a great player and has been a great player here. We will have to see how this all works.
Do I think Mitch can succeed? Yes, I do, but as I said before, we all have to take a step back. It can’t be rigid in our thought process to say we can only do something one way. As I said, he has a say in the process. This is another wordy answer to say, “We’ll see.”
It is the same thing with John and really all of our UFAs. Really good players. I am a huge John Tavares fan. I had a really good discussion with him. We have to take a step back, meet with our group, and decide how we best move forward, what the costs are, and all of the things that go into a contract, and everything else. How does it fit within the puzzle? We will see how it happens over the course of the next couple of weeks.
Mitch Marner has had several chances to say he wants to remain in Toronto, including last week, and has yet to do so. If that doesn’t change and he walks out the door, how do you ensure the team doesn’t take a step back?
Treliving: Good question. There is no hockey tree out there that you go and pluck the player off of. Our job is to make the team look at all of the options. That is what we have to do here right now.
I can’t sit here and give you a definitive answer. We have to go through the process with Mitch. Our staff is in the process of looking at all the different outcomes. We have to drive what we think is the best outcome.
In Mitch’s case, he has a say in the matter. If that was the outcome — and we will see where this goes — I don’t think you are going out and saying, “Let’s go get this player. He replaces Mitch.” Maybe that is where I talk about we have to change a little bit — change the makeup of the team.
But that is speculation right now. Those are hypotheticals that I don’t necessarily like to get into. “We’ll see,” is the answer. It is not trying to be elusive as much as you have to try to prepare for every potential outcome. It may take some time to figure out the best way to move forward, but that is what we are in the process of doing.
Can you say for certain that Marner and Tavares will be offered contracts before July 1?
Treliving: No. As I said before, we are going through that process right now.
In your meetings with MLSE CEO Keith Pelley, what did you hope to hear from him, and what can you share about what this means for you going forward?
Treliving: Big picture, not a whole lot changes for me. My job responsibilities remain my job responsibilities. I am in charge of the hockey team, right?
Obviously, without Brendan there, I will be working closer with Keith. I had a relationship with Keith, but Keith and I are starting that now. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time together. Like any relationship, we are going to find our cadence.
Keith has made it very clear: Your job is to go out and do the things that you see fit with your staff to get the team where we want it to go. Ultimately, we are going to work through that a little bit. There are probably going to be some tweaks as far as how things operate, but by and large, what I am responsible for and where my energies are directed is not going to change a whole lot, and that is toward building a hockey team.
With Brendan Shanahan out of the picture, is it a more streamlined process for you? How does your job change on a day-to-day basis?
Treliving: There is not a lot different. The bricks and mortar of the business — of going out and evaluating players and staff — don’t change. There is a different reporting structure; where I would report to Brendan, I now report to Keith. That is different. Keith and I have had some good discussions over the last couple of days.
I do apologize. Part of this delay was on me; I had a daughter who was graduating, and it was important to get back for it, so that cost us a couple of days.
That part is a little bit different, but again, a lot of what I do isn’t necessarily going to change. It is what 31 other managers do. You are in charge of the team and all of the facets and things that operate around a team. That is what I will continue to do.
Keith Pelley mentioned that the team’s culture changed quite a bit under Craig Berube this season. How would you describe the change you saw in the team’s culture this season, and how much more room to grow is there?
Treliving: We hear culture a lot. To me, it is habits. What is culture? Culture is what you do every day and what you value.
Coming in here, to me, it had never been an issue, necessarily. There have been some changes. When I say, “it had never been an issue…” This is a group where I never felt they didn’t give you an honest day’s work, or they weren’t committed to their craft. Our guys are very committed to preparing and doing things the right way.
I think Craig has a really good way about him. It is a very workmanlike atmosphere. A lot of you were at practice most days. They work. I think he has done a really good job of building a team. That is what we are trying to do here: it is about the team.
We have some really, really good players. It is about team success. I know our guys are bought into that. They want to have it. They are committed to it. We have to find a way for us to push over the top.
Auston Matthews says he will be 100% for training camp. If his injury occurred during last training camp and a few months of treatment could get him right, why wasn’t he given that time in-season so he would be 100% for the playoffs?
Treliving: Auston spoke to you guys and talked about it.
The first thing I would say about injuries — I am not a big believer in going down the list, and it is personal for each guy. We had guys playing through things, as everybody does.
In Auston’s case, he injured himself in camp. Now, again, we are never going to put a player in a position where it is going to make it worse. He worked through it. That is not a case of us saying, “Auston, get out there and make it worse.” He got time.
When we said it was day-to-day, we really believed that. Now, is that two days, and we will see how it feels on the third day? In a couple of cases, it progressed. He was able to play through it. When he came back and started playing after time off, it was better. There would be times when it would flare up.
He was able to play with it. It wasn’t something that we felt by playing, he was going to put himself in a really bad position, short or long term. But with anything that you are dealing with, it takes away some stuff. I give Auston all of the credit in the world. I thought he had a really good year in terms of his first year as captain.
Unless you have something that happened previously, everyone feels great on day one of camp, and everyone feels less great every single day (forward) from that. Everybody is playing through stuff. We were never going to put him in a position where he was playing through something that became worse and worse and worse.
We managed it throughout the year, but did it have an effect? At certain times, it certainly did, but even seeing the way his game evolved, he found a way to be a really, really important, top player. It is a credit to Auston. I thought he was terrific.
When you mention mindset, in Game 7, the team came out horribly to start the game, then recaptured themselves in the second half of the first period. To start the second period, do you have any explanation for what happened from that moment up to the game getting away from the team? After coming back in the first period, the team seemed to completely lose itself afterward.
Treliving: I have replayed that game a few times. It reminded me of a game I was in and talked to Shane Doan about. I don’t know what year it was, but we were in Arizona and we played Detroit in Game 7. We had won an afternoon game in Detroit in Game 6, came back for Game 7, and you are all fired up for Game 7. One team looked like they were completely comfortable in the situation, and the other team didn’t.
When they came out, and I know the shot attempts and all of that were one-sided, but I didn’t think we gave up a lot of grade-A stuff. We found our footing, and we killed a penalty at the end of the first period. Even before that, from the 10-minute mark on, we were carrying play. We had some grade-A chances and some breakaways.
The turning point was the first goal. When the first goal happened, we almost looked like a team that was down 4-0. It is about being able to find your footing. Within a series, you park it, and you move on to the next one. There was a tension.
I will never question the want or the care. These guys want it. They want to be successful. They want to get to where we all want to get to. But at that point, it looked like one team was more comfortable than the other in the situation.
There are more things we can talk about with the nuances of the game and our team structure, but from the 10,000-foot view, when it became 1-0, I felt there was a real tightness in our team. There was a real tightness in the moment.
Champions are the calmest at the most critical time. That is an area where we have to get through.
How would you evaluate Matthew Knies’ performance this season and his ability to perform in those critical playoff moments? As it relates to his contract, is there hope you will be able to resolve it before July 1?
Treliving: I say this all the time — I would like to get it done as soon as possible. Usually, term and money are the only two issues that come into play in contract negotiations, haha.
Matthew had a tremendous year. We are sort of seeing him evolve before our eyes. It is a big step for a young player to become a really important player. You can be a good player and have a role, but he became a really important player.
Matthew had an injury in Game 6 in Florida. He muscled through it. That wasn’t 100% Matthew Knies in Game 7. He was muscling through it, but I thought he was really good. For a guy who hasn’t been through it — this is his second full year — I thought he was really good.
He was an impactful player. I think of the shorthanded breakaway in Game 4. Matthew is a big part of the future moving forward.
The team became a lot bigger and harder to play against on defense. The team led the league in blocked shots at the end of the second round. If you spin it differently, you’re blocking a lot of shots because you don’t have the puck. The team was out-chanced in every single game it played in the playoffs. Everyone on the defense core is signed, but given the trouble clearing the zone and the tendency to get hemmed in a lot during the postseason, do you anticipate any changes to the personnel of the defense core with that in mind?
Treliving: You are not wrong.
In terms of changes, we don’t know. It is too early. Craig and I are talking a lot now about the tweaks we can make. In today’s game, I like the length of our defense. I like the makeup of our defense. But you still have to be able to get up and down the ice. There are things we can do in terms of closing quicker and taking away space.
Part of how we played will lend itself to giving up some volume. The idea is that you are going to give up a little volume, but you are going to take away the grade-As, the most dangerous chances.
Part of what we will do this summer is sit and talk about it. In today’s game, you need your D to be active, right? We need to get more offense from our defense — not just goals, but creating. It is not necessarily going out and turning guys into 20-goal scorers, but we can maybe get some more volume the other way.
In terms of personnel, we will see. I liked the D core. But we can’t be rigid. We fell short. We have to continue to look at ways to get better.
With the draft coming up next month, what have you learned about the way Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Leach operates at the draft? How is he different from his predecessor, Wes Clark?
Treliving: Mark is a really experienced guy. I have really enjoyed the year with him. Now, sometimes, I have to give myself a wide berth around Mark. We’ll meet, he’ll leave, and then I’ll trade one of his draft picks. That makes him really excited.
He’s very detailed. I don’t know if it changes a whole lot, to be honest with you. With the area scouts, there is a lot of responsibility placed on them. Mark is very knowledgeable when you get into the top 90; Mark knows those players really well, and he really includes and pushes the area scouts for their involvement — and gives them a lot of responsibility — as the draft moves on.
I have really enjoyed my time with Leachy. If you look back, he has a hell of a draft record. I joke about (trading) the picks there, but he puts value in every pick. I know that sounds like everybody should, but whether it is a pick in the fourth or seventh round — whatever you’ve got — his feeling is that there are players to be found in every round. His history has shown that.
