It’s been 11 days since the Toronto Maple Leafs’ latest playoff disappointment, and it was general manager Brad Treliving’s turn to meet the media Thursday, following his team’s Game 7 collapse against the Florida Panthers.
As they failed to rise to the occasion at a critical moment once again, questions have been asked of the Maple Leafs’ players, head coach, and a number of executives. Asked about what went so wrong for the Leafs in the 6-1 loss after a solid back half of the first period, Treliving said he’s “replayed that game a few times” and spoke about where he saw the momentum shift in Florida’s favour.
“I thought the turning point was the first goal,” Treliving said. “When the first goal happened, we almost looked like a team that it was 4-0, right? It’s being able to find your footing, as we talk about all the time. It’s like within a series, you mark it, and move on to the next one. I’ll never question the want, these guys want to be successful. They want to get to where we all want to get to. But at that point, one team looked more comfortable than the other in the situation.”
In looking at Toronto’s Game 7 loss, Treliving said it brought him back to another Game 7 from his time as AGM of the then-Phoenix Coyotes. During the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Coyotes forced a seventh game with a commanding win in Game 6 in a back-and-forth series with the Detroit Red Wings. But in Game 7, things got away from them, and just like the Leafs, they fell 6-1 and went home empty handed. Treliving saw in Toronto what he saw in the Coyotes then, one team collapsing under pressure in the face of a team that knew how to manage it.
“There’s more things that we can talk about in the nuance of the game, in terms of our team’s structure, in terms of position, all that sort of stuff,” Treliving continued. “But from a 10,000 foot view, when it became 1-0, I felt there was a real tightness in our team, in the moment. Champions are calmest at the most critical times and that’s an area we’ve got to improve.”
Through his press conference, Treliving spoke about changing the DNA of the team, hinting at some major re-structuring coming for the Maple Leafs this summer. Beyond just a roster shakeup, that will also have to include a mentality reset, in order to be better primed to face these high-pressure situations heading into next season and beyond. And there may be some qualities that the Maple Leafs may be borrowing from the Panthers entering next season.
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