Just 24 days after general manager Brad Treliving said he took “full responsibility” for the Toronto Maple Leafs disappointing collapse this season, he paid the ultimate price.
On Monday evening, less than two hours before the Maple Leafs faced off against the Anaheim Ducks out on the West Coast at Honda Center, the team released a statement that Treliving had been relieved of his duties.
Although the timing of the move might be a bit surprising, the actual decision should not be.
The Maple Leafs have not been mathematically eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet, but that should happen any day now. And when it does, it will mark the first time the franchise will not be in the postseason in a decade dating back to the spring of 2016.
It’s an alarmingly quick free-fall, especially when you consider this team is just 10 months removed from being one win away from making its first appearance in a conference final since 2002.
It also elicits a number of questions swirling around the situation.
The most immediate one is why, if this move was being contemplated for a while now, was Treliving allowed to oversee the moves made leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6, decisions that will ultimately affect the team moving forward?
Perhaps the line of thinking was to wait and see how the team would come out of the Olympic break last month in the hopes that a postseason berth could still be salvaged. The Maple Leafs were six points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference at the time. Not ideal, for sure, but still doable.
Instead, they looked listless in going 0-4-2 from that point up to the deadline, at which time Treliving made his comments about taking the blame.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the Maple Leafs lost captain Auston Matthews for the season six days later with an MCL tear he sustained when he was kneed by Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas, who received a five-game suspension for his actions.
Making matters worse was the fact that none of the Maple Leafs players on the ice during that March 12 game took any actions against Gudas while their teammate and best player was writhing on the ice in pain. Toronto players, led by defenseman Morgan Rielly, came out after the game and apologized for their lack of response in not coming to the defense of their captain but, at least in terms of optics, it was too little, too late in the eyes of many.
It would not be surprising if Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment president Keith Pelley was one of those who felt that way.
After the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in seven games in the Eastern Conference Second Round last spring, Pelley said he understood the disappointment of a loyal fan base that had displayed its anger by chucking jerseys on the ice and loudly booing the home team during lackluster losses in Games 5 and 7. It ultimately led to the dismissal of team president Brendan Shanahan, who had held the position since 2014.
With Shanahan gone, it was up to Treliving and coach Craig Berube to guide the team in 2025-26.
After 74 games and a moribund 31-30-13 record, Pelley had seen enough.
“Throughout the course of this season, there has been deep analysis into both the current state of the Maple Leafs organization and the direction needed to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering a Stanley Cup championship to the city,” Pelley said in a statement released Monday evening. “Brad Treliving is a man that we all have deep respect and appreciation for, both as a hockey executive and as a person, but it was determined that the club must chart a new course under different leadership. The organization is grateful for all that Brad has contributed in his nearly three years with the Maple Leafs and we wish him and his family the very best.”
Back in late February, Pelley, in an email to Maple Leafs season-ticket holders, lamented the team’s up-and-down season and said, “we will do whatever is needed for this team to make the next step.”
Obviously Treliving’s firing is part of that.
Now come the questions.
Who comes in as general manager?
Will a team president also be hired?
What is the fate of coach Craig Berube, especially with highly-coveted candidates like Pete DeBoer and Bruce Cassidy, who was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, available for hire?
Whoever does come into Toronto, they’ll find a team that has less talent and draft capital than when Treliving took over from Kyle Dubas in the spring of 2023.
In his tenure overseeing the Maple Leafs, the team had a record of 129-82-27 in the regular season and a mark of 10-10 in the playoffs.
In that time, the team bid adieu to forward Mitch Marner, who became disgruntled with the situation in Toronto and was sent to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade on July 1, 2025.
The forwards who were brought in to help fill his absence -- Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli and Nicolas Roy -- simply could not do it. Roy was eventually traded to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft and a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on March 5.
While on the subject of trades, there were a number that likely helped lead to Treliving’s demise.
The most glaring one came last March, when he dealt highly-touted prospect Fraser Minten and a 2026 top-five protected pick to the Boston Bruins for defenseman Brandon Carlo. Minten is now playing on the Bruins’ top line, while the odds look to be in favor of Boston using Toronto’s pick somewhere between No. 5 to No. 10 overall, depending on the final standings.
Another head-scratcher involved forward Scott Laughton.
The 31-year-old was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the deadline last season for a conditional first-round pick in the 2027 draft and forward prospect Nikita Grebenkin. On March 6, Laughton, who has 17 points (11 goals, six assists) in 55 games this season and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional third-round pick in the 2026 draft, which elevates to a second-round pick if the Kings make the postseason.
Why did the Maple Leafs receive less for Laughton this year than they gave up for him 12 months earlier?
“We communicated with everybody,” Treliving replied regarding trade talks involving the veteran forward. “And ultimately, the market dictates, right?”
Much in the same way the Maple Leafs’ lost season dictated Treliving’s demise.
Now what?
Do they try to woo Mark Hunter, the GM of the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, who served as the Maple Leafs assistant GM from 2015-18?
Do they see what happens with St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, who has proclaimed he will leave the position in favor of incoming executive Alex Steen at the end of this season?
Do they promote from within in the person of Brandon Pridham, Toronto’s current assistant GM and salary cap guru?
Pelley will address many of these queries when he meets with the media Tuesday afternoon.
That's about the only sure thing in a Maple Leafs future that seems filled with uncertainties.
