The Toronto Maple Leafs have not played to expectations this season and general manager Brad Treliving is not looking to point fingers at others for the team’s struggles.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Treliving noted that it has been a disappointing start and, ultimately, the buck stops with him when it comes to owning the blame.
“Obviously, as we sit here today, we’re not where we want to be or where we envision to be. We’ve underperformed to this point. And I take full responsibility,” Treliving told reporters. “I’m in charge of the hockey department. I’ve put the people in place on the ice, off the ice. So the responsibility lies with myself. And we start today and every day trying to get ourselves back up and going and improve where we are.”
The Leafs sit second-last in the Eastern Conference with an 8-9-2 record and have allowed the second-most goals per game in the league.
Treliving made it clear he is not considering a change behind the bench and believes the group needs to pull together under Craig Berube.
“Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight. When you go through difficult times, the easy thing is to pick on the coach,” Treliving said. “The important thing is to not point fingers, and dig in together. I have all the faith in the world in him.”
The Leafs GM is considering all avenues to see what changes can be made, but Treliving doesn’t believe the team can trade its way out of its problems.
He also believes that the team has struggled to regain its identity from last season.
“I think there’s been too much vanilla with our team,” Treliving said. “You can count on one hand how many complete games we’ve had.”
