The tears shed at the podium said plenty about how sad and how embarrassing a day it was for the Calgary Flames.
After nine years as GM, Brad Treliving made the difficult decision to do what few team architects ever do: walk away.
This was, without question, Treliving’s choice.
He fired the Flames, not the other way around.
His contract was to expire June 30, but on Monday morning – five days after quietly informing then-assistant GM Don Maloney he was done – it was made official.
And so, shortly after lunch, the suddenly rudderless club held a presser to introduce Maloney as the new president of hockey operations and interim GM.
It was there, while flanked by Flames president and CEO John Bean, Maloney had to pause to fight back tears when talk turned to his age-old colleague and friend, Treliving.
“Today is not a good day for me,” said Maloney, lamenting the awkward scene hours before the Stanley Cup Playoffs started
“Brad Treliving is a good friend and a very good hockey man.
“He left us, for his reasons. But we move on.”
Maloney and Bean suggest Treliving simply needed to give his mind and body a break.
Treliving opted not to speak Monday, as he and his family digested the reality of it all.
It says here his reasons had plenty to do with the friction between Treliving and coach Darryl Sutter, who almost certainly isn’t going anywhere, thanks to the two-year contract worth more than $8 million committed to the former Jack Adams winner.
Maloney wouldn’t commit to Sutter’s return, insisting he’d be reviewing everyone and everything.
But don’t be surprised if Sutter takes to the podium as early as Wednesday to discuss the season and onward.
Maloney said there was no timeline on when the new GM will be unveiled, as he and Bean had yet to iron out what type of leader they’re looking for.
A list of candidates will be long, and it will include assistant GMs Craig Conroy and Brad Pascall.
Maloney said he’s still processing what he heard from players, coaches and management during exit meetings, in which the drama around the team was very much in question.
The culture needs fixing, making the GM hire one of the most important in franchise history.
This organization is at a major crossroads, with the bulk of seven core players expected to bolt for greener pastures when their contracts expire next summer.
Plenty want out now.
How many need to be traded this summer will be one of the first things that will have to be evaluated as this organization appears to be teetering on the brink of a rebuild in the next year or two.
“I’m not allowed to ever use the word rebuild,” said Bean, echoing the age-old sentiment of an ownership group whose penchant for trying to remain forever competitive has left the team stuck in the middle for two decades – not good enough to be a serious competitor, but not bad enough for a top draft pick.
Will would-be GM candidates be honest enough to point out the need for major retooling or even broach the possibility the coach has too much control?
Unlikely.
Intellectual honesty is what’s needed most right now.
Treliving detractors will point to the team’s two post-season series wins under the GM as evidence the organization needed better direction.
Fair.
But what can’t be denied is the level of professionalism, competence, class and know-how Treliving exuded as the franchise front man.
His comfort with the media, his acumen when dealing with trade partners, and his rapport with players is legendary – a leader who will be able to write his own ticket when the time is right.
Ultimately it came down to a clash with the face of the franchise, Sutter, whose radically different approach saw him push back on call-ups like Jakob Pelletier and Matthew Phillips, while also publicly criticizing the organization’s past.
In the end, Treliving found the situation and stress untenable and will gamble on himself moving forward – a move he certainly won’t regret given the internal and hockey-related challenges facing the Flames.
Still, those close to Treliving said he agonized over the decision to walk.
His family loves it here and he set down major roots while becoming a beloved part of the hockey community.
Unafraid to take chances, he won more trades than he lost.
His acquisition of Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin represented his finest move.
The swap for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar was the most maligned.
Treliving turned down a contract extension in the fall, wanting to see how things unfolded this season.
As things deteriorated, so did his desire to continue the fight.
And so, he moves on, leaving an embarrassed organization to grieve his departure and begin anew with an uncomfortable press conference few will forget.
