The Toronto Maple Leafs played their most complete game of the season on Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 7-2 win on the road, but the Maple Leafs looked like the team everyone expected them to be this season. However, things are not rosy in Leafs land as the team is still trying to find their identity this season without Mitch Marner.
Everyone expected that to be the case. It is hard to replace a 100-point player. However, during Brad Treliving’s quarter-pole State of the Union address, he emphasized twice that Craig Berube was his guy and that he wouldn’t make a coaching change.
As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet stated on the Saturday Headlines on Hockey Night in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs are not making any organizational changes anytime soon.
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
Ron MacLean: “Toronto, this is our first four-goal lead of the season. So now Craig Berube and Brad Treliving are off the hot seat, I guess. But what about that?”
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Elliotte Friedman: “Well, the thing is that, we’ve talked about it, they’re really looking. They’re trying to do things. They don’t want to trade, like the Matthews, the Nylanders or the Tavares, the Knies. Like that’s not happening, but they have looked around.
The one thing is the heat really got going this week. I don’t believe that there’s anything imminent in terms of major organizational changes, like Coach, GM, anything like that. I don’t think they’re thinking about it. I don’t think it’s on the horizon. I don’t think it’s imminent. I think if anything like that was to happen, it’s down the road.
So I know, again, people were wondering, could they do that kind of a change? I don’t think it’s on the horizon at all.”
It’s up to the players to make this work in Toronto. Treliving stated that he could bring five new guys into the lineup, and if they don’t play the right way, the team would get the same results. However, the Maple Leafs are looking to make hockey trades to get better.
While they brought in Brandon Carlo, Scott Laughton, Dakota Joshua, Nicolas Roy, Nic Robertson, and others, some of those players could be on the move. Morgan Reily’s name is popping up again. But again, with the standings so tight, nobody is really making a move now.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs, like most teams, will have to figure this out and wait until after the holiday freeze to make a move.”
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