After labeling his team "too much vanilla," GM Brad Treliving's summer moves and identity push have yet to deliver consistency, leaving the Maple Leafs facing critical early-season moments.
The term ‘identity’ has been thrown around a lot by the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last year, especially after the club’s disappointing second-round exit to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers. Following that loss, Brad Treliving focused on a message of “changing the DNA” and helping his players get “past those critical moments”.
He certainly changed the mix in the summer. Mitch Marner was gone in a sign-and-trade to the Vegas Golden Knights , and the Leafs got beefier on depth with the additions of Nic Roy and Dakota Joshua. They also sprinkled in some playmaking ability with Matias Maccelli.
But the moves haven’t worked out thus far, as the Leafs struggled with an 8-9-2 record to open the 2025-26 season. Treliving was asked point blank if the team had established its identity yet, and he didn’t hold back.
“I think there's been too much vanilla with our team,” Treliving said. “And that's a big part of what you try to establish your team is what it's going to look like on a nightly basis, right? When you're going well, you have a really good indication; there's going to be good nights and bad nights. But you have a pretty good idea how it's going to look from night to night.”
He continued, “A large part of the frustration is you don't know how it's going to look, right? It's been in spurts, it's been in periods, it's been within periods. I think you can count on one hand how many full complete games we've had. So that's a big part of it is going back to how we want to look and trying to get to look like that on a more consistent basis.”
How An 'Unconfident' Maple Leafs Team Plans On Getting Through Their Early-Season Struggles
Nick Robertson said the team possibly could've tightened up following Chicago's game-tying goal in the third period.
Treliving also noted that while the team has eight wins this season, they didn’t necessarily deserve that amount, suggesting that number could have easily been lower. And he’s right. The Leafs' record has been flattering, given underlying numbers that show them near the bottom of the league in possession and high-danger save percentage.
The Leafs may have been built to be a better playoff team, but the club still needs to get there. They are getting their most valuable lesson right now in learning not to take the good things for granted.
Do The Maple Leafs Have 'Too Much Vanilla' Or Not Enough Marner?
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said the solution to dealing with the team's bad start is not to point fingers and dig in together. But they seriously need Marner's two-way play right now.
The club has dealt with a bunch of injuries, something Treliving refused to dwell on, calling it a “loser mentality”. But it’s those moments where they need more from players and they have to dig in. That’s why a lot of fingers are being pointed at William Nylander, who, while he has been getting points, hasn’t done enough to shepherd the team through this slump.
Tuesday’s game against the equally-slumping St. Louis Blues may not be a must-win, but for a team searching for consistency, it is certainly starting to feel that way.
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'I Take Full Responsibility': GM Brad Treliving Speaks About Maple Leafs' Difficult Start To Season