Dave McCarthy of NHL.com: Newly named Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Brad Treliving said that signing Auston Matthews to a contract extension is a priority for him.
“Auston is one of the elite players in the world,” Treliving said. “We’re not talking about a good player in the League. We’re talking about an elite player in the world. Getting to Auston is a priority. But outside of the contract stuff, number one is just getting to build a relationship. It’s not walking down and trying to arm wrestle about contracts, it’s me getting a chance to meet him, but more importantly having Auston get a chance to meet me and know what we’re about.”
Treliving added that he’s been texting with Matthews already and that he has a good relationship with agent Judd Moldaver.
Treliving adds that you don’t always want to make changes for the sake of making changes, especially when you are talking about the core four of Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and John Tavares.
“Having those players excites me. They’re world-class players,” Treliving said. “We’re going to review everything. I want to stress strongly I’m not about coming in and making a statement. You can throw a body onto the tarmac and it might look good for a headline, but are you getting any better? It’s about getting better, and just being different doesn’t necessarily make you better.”
Maple Lefas Hot Stove: Treliving when asked what his biggest priorties are over the next few days and weeks.
“Obviously, we have some contractual issues that we are going to deal with. We are going to build those relationships. We have Sheldon’s situation. We have to get to know the staff. We have a draft to prepare for.
There is the communication amongst the manager community. I am a little bit behind here now. People have been talking and figuring out what they want to do. We will go pedal down here pretty quickly. This is not the dating game. We are going to get right into pushing hard.”