Toronto Maple Leafs Roundtable
Brad Treliving Officially Named 18th General Manager in Toronto Maple Leafs History
Treliving is scheduled to meet with the media on Thursday morning and replaces Kyle Dubas, who served in the spot for five seasons.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made it official.
Brad Treliving is the club’s 18th general manager in franchise history, the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.
"I am very excited and honored to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as General Manager," said Brad Treliving. "I would like to thank Brendan (Maple Leafs team president Brendan Shanahan), MLSE and its Board for their support throughout this process. I’m thrilled to join an Original Six team and recognize how much the Maple Leafs mean to this community. This is a very exciting day for my family and I," Treliving said in a statement released from the team.
The 53-year-old Treliving will be introduced by Shanahan at news conference scheduled for 11am Thursday.
The Maple Leafs began a search for a new GM on May 19 after informing Kyle Dubas that his contract would not be renewed when it expires on June 30. In the days that followed, it was reported that Treliving was the frontrunner among a handful of experienced GMs that would have an interview over the vacancy.
Treliving was the general manager of the Flames for nine seasons before leaving the team in April. During his tenure, he was responsible for rebuilding the team and making some significant moves that helped the team reach the playoffs in four of his nine seasons.
Shanahan described a candidate with previous GM experience as "an attractive quality" in his news conference in the aftermath of his non-renewal of Dubas.
It has been reported that Shanahan interview and/or spoke with several past NHL GM including, but not limited to, Marc Bergevin, Jason Botterill and Peter Chiarelli before settling on Treliving, whom many felt was his job to lose.
"I’m very pleased to welcome Brad into the Maple Leafs organization,” said Shanahan in a statement. “Brad brings a wealth of knowledge from his years of experience as a General Manager and hockey executive in Calgary, Arizona and beyond. He has earned tremendous respect amongst his peers throughout his years in the NHL and has built excellent relationships at all levels within the game. We are confident that Brad’s leadership and strategic vision will elevate the Maple Leafs in our continued pursuit of a championship.”
Last summer, Treliving made some big off-season moves after popular star forward Johnny Gaudreau left the club and signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in free agency. In the days that followed, Matthew Tkachuk informed the club that he would not be signing a contract extension. That forced Treliving to trade Tkachuk to the Panthers for a package that included Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and a first-round draft pick.
Treliving also signed free agent forward Nazem Kadri to a long-term contract.
With Toronto facing some big decisions for its core players like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, the Leafs get a GM who has made franchise-changing moves in the past.
There is also the future of head coach Sheldon Keefe to be clarified.
More clarity should come from Treliving's news conference on Thursday.
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