‘When There’s Not Much, You Can Charge More’: Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving Reacts To Navigating Pricey Trade Deadline

To receive, you must give.

After pulling an all-nighter leading up to Friday’s NHL trade deadline, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving met with the media in Colorado to address the challenges of this year’s market – acknowledging the steep prices for buyers and contenders.

“That's the old supply and demand. When there's not much, you can charge more,” said Treliving. “That seems to be the case here, and you're navigating it.”

Treliving also humorously suggested that he was hoping for some bargain deals at the trade deadline, but those discounts didn’t materialize as quickly as he wanted. Instead, based on the reality of the market, it meant paying premium prices.

“Certainly that was the sense coming in today. I always like to try to get things done as early as you can. I was hoping that the blue light specials would come on. They didn't come on as quick as I'd hoped,” Treliving joked. 

“But no, hey, that's that's what you're dealing with. You're dealing with managers who are really good at their jobs. Everybody's trying to do the best for the team. I think, again, the market dictates supply and demand. You saw some sellers, teams that were selling, get good returns,” he added.

There were a handful of deals that came for a pricy return. 

For the Leafs, they traded prospect Nikita Grebenkin and a conditional first-round pick in 2027 to receive center Scott Laughton (50% retained salary). The club also sent Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a salary dump, receiving a fifth-round pick before ending the day with one last move to acquire Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins in a package that cost the Leafs Fraser Minten.

While Treliving had to part with valuable assets, Laughton and Carlo arrived with term remaining on their contracts, and salary retention made their cap hits more manageable. Carlo’s cap hit dropped to approximately $3.5 million for the next two seasons, while Laughton’s salary was cut in half, making his hit just $1.5 million for this year and next.

While some prices were steeper than others, the Leafs managed to keep what many consider the club’s top prospect in Easton Cowan.

“As I said, Easton, Fraser, you want to keep all your players. But at the end of the day, sometimes you have to make tough decisions,” said Treliving. “I put it two ways. It's my job to look at everything, and nothing is ever off the table. But certainly, we think Easton's a terrific young player. It would have to have a significant impact for us.”

He added, “But, that's the job. Our job is to make this team better every time that we can. Glad today that Easton's part of it and still with us. And like I said, I figured that was going to be the case. Barring something unforeseen.”

The true price of this year’s market became even clearer after the deadline.

On Real Kyper and Bourne, Nick Kypreos reported that the Leafs had offered Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and two first-round picks in an attempt to trade for Mikko Rantanen before the Finnish star was dealt to the Dallas Stars.

Meanwhile, NHL insider Chris Johnston later mentioned on TSN’s OverDrive that Carolina’s asking price reportedly included Matthew Knies and multiple picks, a demand that was deemed too steep for the Leafs.

Treliving spoke highly of Knies and his development, reinforcing why he wasn’t willing to part with the up-and-coming power forward.

“Matthew's still a young player, right? We forget. Second full season, right? Those players that come at the end of their college career and play, you always feel like they've been around usually a couple of years longer than they have,” said Treliving of Knies. “He's just maturing into his body. His game's maturing. I think Matthew's just realizing how big and strong he is. And, you know, he's getting more comfortable.” 

“He’s sort of grown right in front of our eyes. He's a big part of our team now. And he's a unique player; that's a big, strong man at 22 years old. Developing different parts of his game, you see what he's done in the power play from that front. Developing an edge to his game; he added the element the other night into his game. You can see a power forward developing right in front of us,” he added.

While the Leafs didn’t land a superstar like Rantanen, they strengthened their depth while holding onto key young players like Cowan and Knies. Treliving navigated a high-priced market, securing assets with term and retention while avoiding overpaying for short-term rentals – and that is worth noting.

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