The Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager, Brad Treliving, has expressed his full support for coach Craig Berube, as the team faces a disappointing start to the season in the NHL. During his usual mid-season media availability, Treliving was candid about the Leafs’ underperforming, with a record of 8-9-2. Despite this, Treliving is confident that Berube is the right person to revitalize a Toronto team he considers “disconnected”.
Berube was Treliving’s first hire as coach of the Leafs, following the dismissal of Sheldon Keefe in May 2024. At the time, Treliving believed that Toronto needed a new voice, and the Leafs responded well to Berube last season, finishing at the top of the Atlantic Division with 108 points. However, Toronto is on pace to score only 78 points this year, and Treliving is still trying to figure out why the Leafs have had this decline in Berube’s second season. Aside from the loss of Mitch Marner in free agency last summer, this is essentially the same group that Berube worked with in the 2024-25 season. The results, however, have not met Treliving’s expectations, especially on defense. The Leafs are conceding the second-most goals in the league (3.79 per game) and the fifth-most shots against (31.2). Their goalies have performed averagely, and starting goalie Anthony Stolarz has a 6-5-1 record with a save percentage of .884, far from last season’s outstanding performance. Treliving also observes a general lack of “enthusiasm” in the team, suggesting that something must change for Toronto to get back in the playoff race. They are currently four points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, before Tuesday’s game against St. Louis, Berube’s former team. Treliving emphasized that it’s up to the Leafs players to solve their problems, rather than management seeking new additions or changes in personnel.I have complete faith in our coach at the moment, so I don’t see that as a problem. I believe in Craig and his message. Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight.
Brad Treliving
Treliving also declined to blame the Leafs’ injuries for their problems. Toronto is without several key players, including Auston Matthews (lower body), Stolarz (upper body), Nic Roy (upper body), Chris Tanev (upper body), Scott Laughton (upper body), and Brandon Carlo (lower body), all unavailable. This has significantly impacted the Leafs’ depth at center and defense, and that’s a challenge they’ll have to overcome in the short term. Toronto claimed defenseman Troy Stetcher off waivers from Edmonton this week as a temporary measure, and goaltender Joseph Woll, who played his first game of the season on Saturday after a month-long absence for personal reasons, should be back in full form soon. However, Matthews only resumed skating on Tuesday and will miss his second straight game, while Laughton could return on Thursday against Columbus. Treliving insists that, unless Toronto plays better collectively, it won’t matter who is in the lineup.The reality of the business is that you are not going to solve the problems with transfers. We are not going to panic and start throwing things overboard just to do something. My job right now is to support our coach, support his message and support our group, and push the group.
Brad Treliving
I think there’s been too much “vanilla” with our team. I think you can count on one hand how many complete and full games we’ve had. Put anyone in the uniform. If we play like we’re playing, we’ll probably have the same result.
Brad Treliving
