Although the Maple Leafs appear to be getting back on track with its core, the Leafs’ general manager stated that there is still work to be done.
Wednesday was an eventful day for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Their staff and entire core of players (excluding for William Nylander, who was likely remained in Sweden) staged a presentation in which John Tavares officially turned over the team captaincy to superstar Auston Matthews.
After that, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving spoke on TSN’s OverDrive alongside Brian Hayes and Jamie McLennan. After spending the first half of the episode discussing the change in captaincy, the conversation went to the Leafs probably reuniting with their core players, including Mitch Marner, who is a potential trade target given that he is entering the final year of his contract.
“To me, we’ve still got around five weeks till camp. And, you know, we’re not done yet. Treliving stated, “We continue to look for ways to improve our team.” “I said at the end of the year, we’d look into everything. People sometimes fall in love with the phrase “let’s make a big change just to make a big change”. At the end of the day, you may go out and make significant changes. If they aren’t improving your team, it doesn’t make sense to make a change only to stand up and say, ‘Look at it, we made this major change.'”
Marner, 27, scored 26 goals and assisted 59 times in 69 games. His contract includes a full no-movement clause, and any deal would require his approval. It’s likely that nothing has presented itself in which the Leafs believe a return is worth offering to Marner’s camp right now. In terms of transition, Treliving mentioned the coaching change from Sheldon Keefe to Craig Berube in May, as well as defensive signings such as Christ Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
What else do the Leafs need to accomplish?
There are still a few circumstances that require clarification. Defenseman Jani Hakanpaa was reported to have signed with the Leafs, but the contract was never filed with the NHL owing to knee issues. Treliving informed reporters on Wednesday that they were working through it.
There’s also the case of Nick Robertson. There has been no update on the restricted free agent’s status. Robertson reportedly informed the Maple Leafs that he has no intention of signing with the team and would prefer to be dealt.Treliving, speaking with reporters following the first day of free agency, emphasised Robertson’s opportunities this season.
Need for additional depth forwards.
The Leafs may discover that prospect forwards Fraser Minten and Easton Cowan are ready to make the leap, but if they aren’t and the Robertson problem isn’t resolved, they may need to add more depth forwards. It wouldn’t be surprising if Toronto offered professional tryouts to any existing free agents.
Last season, Noah Gregor participated in a professional tryout with the Leafs before signing a one-year, $775,000 contract before opening night. The Leafs chose not to qualify Gregor in June, and he signed with the Ottawa Senators.
