TORONTO — Brad Treliving is a firm believer that hockey teams are built in summertime.
The executive preached that in Calgary, where he made the biggest swing of his career (Matthew Tkachuk for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar) in dock weather.
He’s proclaimed the same in Toronto, where his July signings (Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Chris Tanev, Anthony Stolarz, et al.) have been far more impactful than his fringy deadline deals (Connor Dewar, Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin).
So, it wasn’t surprising that the Maple Leafs general manager tempered expectations for a blockbuster when he met with reporters in Cranberry Township, Penn., Saturday.
“Are there players out there that can make a difference and move the needle?” Treliving rhetorically asked a scrum of reporters.
“Sometimes, moving the needle is small. Maybe it’s not the sexy, headline-grabbing move, but where are areas that you can shore up? And ultimately, what’s available? What’s the cost and how does it all fit in?”
The Maple Leafs have steadily, if unspectacularly, risen to the top of a softer Atlantic Division. They have the talent — and, refreshingly, the goaltending — to match any foe in its conference.
Breathing down the Leafs’ neck, Florida has already upgraded significantly with top-four righty Seth Jones.
And yet? Treliving bites back at the theory that the right side of the bracket is there for the taking.
“I don’t buy into the idea that from year to year it’s wide open,” Treliving said. “The East has got the reigning Stanley Cup champions. It’s got good teams. I think you always have to base it on where you think your team is at.
“And it’s not, to me, about taking big swings. Where do you think you can help your team the most? Sometimes you historically look back … at these attention-grabbing deadline deals, and how many have really paid dividends, right?”
The Leafs are setting a low bar, but they will do something.
They must.
“I like our team,” Treliving said. “I’d like to see if we can make it better by Friday.”
Projected deadline day cap space: $101,562
Contracts: 48/50
Cap space committed to 2024-25: $90.5 million (committed to 23 players)
DRAFT PICKS
NEEDS
Same as it ever was: A middle-six centre and a right-shot defenceman, please.
Treliving has prioritized a pure, two-way pivot to slot behind Auston Matthews and, most likely, pending free agent John Tavares, who would prefer to sign his extension yesterday.
Be it the short-lived experiments with William Nylander up the middle or the discomfort with Max Domi (better as a complementary piece) running his own line, Toronto’s need for another bona fide, trustworthy centre has been apparent for more than a year now.
Treliving prefers to find a solution with term on his deal but may settle for a rental if he deems the cost too high.
“That’s the trick: You’ve got to determine fact from fiction about what players are actually available,” Treliving explained. “There’s still lots of teams in the race. I would say, in comparison to years past, (trade activity) is a little bit slower just because I think there’s a lot more teams that maybe haven’t declared yet as in years past. So, there’s lots of conversations going on.”
As third-pairing defencemen Conor Timmins and Simon Benoit hit a bit of a wall, and the Jani Hakanpää rehabilitation gambit proves to be a $1.47-million blunder, management would also like to upgrade on the blueline — like it did last spring with the Lyubushkin and Edmundson acquisitions.
That need is secondary, though.
“I don’t think you can ever have too many (defencemen). So, if there’s something there that makes sense to us,” Treliving says, he’ll do it. “There’s certainly some areas we’d like to shore up. It’s just: What’s the cost? What’s the contract? How do you fit it in? And, ultimately, what assets have got to go out the door?”
POTENTIAL TARGETS
Brayden Schenn: The biggest name Treliving is targeting (long shot Mikko Rantanen notwithstanding) would finally fill the roster’s void at 3C.
Schenn — a Berube favourite — brings defensive responsibility, secondary scoring, championship experience and A-plus leadership.
The catch? He also brings a concerning age (33) and cap hit ($6.5 million). Only the latter can be reduced through negotiation.
Scott Laughton: The 30-year-old pivot only has one more season beyond this one on his deal with the Flyers. The Oakville, Ont., native is younger and cheaper ($3 million) than Schenn but doesn’t carry quite the pedigree or offensive upside. The rumoured asking price to rent Laughton for two playoff runs is a first-round pick.
Brock Nelson: Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has been loath to give up on his aging core. Well, he should. Nelson loves Long Island, but it would be in the organization’s best interest to recoup assets for the best pure rental centre on the market. Not many 30-goal penalty killers out there.
Jake Evans: The Toronto native and Montreal Canadiens right-shot pivot has quietly scored as many goals as Schenn (12) and is on pace for a career high in points. Yes, there is mutual interest in an extension, but this is Evans’ best shot to get rich — and the Canadiens aren’t a contender yet. If I’m his agent, I’m taking him to market. Which means Montreal must trade.
Some backup options for rental centres could include Nick Bjugstad and Yanni Gourde. Treliving is poking around everywhere.
Luke Schenn: The dream would be to reunite the Schenn brothers, and defenceman Luke was outstanding as Morgan Rielly’s rugged, right-shot partner in Toronto’s glorious 2023 playoff series win over Tampa Bay.
Romance versus Father Time: The elder Schenn is 35 now. He has another year on his deal with the Predators.
ASSETS TO TRADE
Easton Cowan: Widely viewed as the most coveted Maple Leafs prospect and the one with the highest ceiling, the pride of Mount Brydges, Ont., is enjoying another productive campaign for the powerhouse London Knights.
The 19-year-old “Cowboy” underwhelmed at training camp and in Canada’s latest world junior disappointment. The tournament didn’t do much for his stock, but he’s competitive and consistent.
That Cowan has piled a ridiculous 147 points over his last 93 OHL contests should give the Leafs — and their potential trade partners — hope that he’ll establish himself as an NHL top-six right wing.
Fraser Minten: More NHL-ready and defensively responsible than his buddy Cowan, the 20-year-old Minten has all the makings of a solid two-way, third-line centre. Great habits, high character, safe bet. Though Minten needs more AHL seasoning, his 19-game peek in a Leafs uni assures he won’t look out of place in the world’s top league soon.
“They’re going to be NHL players,” Treliving said of Cowan and Minten. “We think highly of them, as we do with a number of other prospects. We think those guys are exactly where they need to be right now and are progressing well and we’re excited about them.”
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Ben Danford: The sturdy, stay-at-home, right-shot defenceman might still be two years away from being two years away from establishing himself as an everyday blueliner at the pro level, but Toronto’s 2024 first-round draftee has the size (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) and attitude (box out, shut down) that makes NHL execs drool.
Now captain of the Oshawa Generals, the 19-year-old Danford has chipped in a career-high five goals to go along with his 16 assists, but his primary focus is keeping attackers on the outside and goals out of his net.
2026 first-round pick: Toronto’s history of “going for it” has drained its pick pool to the shallow end only. With no ’25 first-rounder to dangle, Treliving could use his ’26 first to land a bigger fish. The Panthers, in a similar jam, used their ’26 first to acquire Seth Jones from Chicago.
2025 second-round pick: This pick should be good as gone. The Leafs swapped their 2024 second-rounder for Florida’s in the upcoming draft, not because they want to build for the future but because the going rate for a half-decent rental is a second.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
• Calle Järnkrok’s return boosts the Maple Leafs’ middle six. The “Swiss army knife” (Berube’s term; the versatile forward is most certainly Swedish) can move all around the lineup and pitch in both special teams. Berube might try him at centre because why not?
That said, we’re 10 months removed from Järnkrok’s last game action, and he’s hopping on a speeding train after sports hernia surgery. Don’t let a healthy Järnkrok be sold to you as a substitute for a meaningful forward acquisition.
• The Leafs aren’t shopping roster players like Domi (13-team no-trade clause), Nick Robertson and Dewar (both pending RFA), or Alex Steeves (pending UFA). They’d prefer to keep this depth.
If salary must be shed to bring in a player with term, however, these non-core forwards are hardly untouchable.
• Toronto signed undrafted Prince George Cougars right wing Borya Valis, 20, to a three-year, entry-level contract.
“Our staff has had a lot of interest in him for a while,” Treliving said. “He has a real good two-way game. He has offensive instincts, good size (6-foot-2, 192 pounds), skates well. He’s one of those guys who is a late-developing player.”
Because of their weak prospect pool, Toronto keeps digging hard to uncover late-blooming free agents plying their trade overseas, at the NCAA level, or elsewhere.
Occasionally, you strike gold with a Bobby McMann.
