Brad Treliving’s worst moves as Maple Leafs GM

However, that backfired as he never regained that same production and consistency, losing favour with head coach Craig Berube last season. He eventually was put on waivers and after playing four games with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, he wasn’t happy. The contract alone was met with criticism as the term and value was too high for a fourth line centre and instead of having other priorities. 

Let’s not forget that Pontus Holmberg was already showing glimpses of being that player for the future as he was younger and more consistent. You could argue that he could’ve had better line mates as playing with Ryan Reaves won’t get you far. Even so, the contract backfired big time in a big way. 

4. Ryan Reaves 

Many are still wondering why Reaves was signed in the first place. Signing an enforcer to a $4.05 million contract with barely any offensive production really didn’t sit well with a lot of people. 

Being 37 years old at the time, Reaves was brought in to help with the culture and be a veteran presence in the locker room while being a protector on the ice. He had seven fights in his first season, which was great to see, but that fell to only one the following season. If he was brought in to being an intimidating presence, that was met with inconsistencies. The lack of offensive production was also a problem, but going from four goals to zero is definitely not ideal. 

He was constantly hemmed in his own zone most of the time and with a minimum of 500 minutes played as a Maple Leaf, he had the worst goals for percentage of 31.71% and an expected goals for percentage of 46.51%. The contract was ultimately poor cap management as he was eventually traded to the San Jose Sharks. 

3. The Marner Sign and Trade

This was shades of the Matthew Tkachuk move that Treliving faced with the Calgary Flames, a trade he also lost. He lost another trade with another star player leaving for virtually nothing in the Mitch Marner sign and trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. Treliving at least got a package for Tkachuk in Jonathan Huberdeau and Mackenzie Weegar, but he only managed to get a third-line centre in Nicolas Roy for Marner as his hands were tied.

While there was much more to everything as the Marner Saga came to an ugly end, you’re weren’t going to get a lot in return as Treliving had no leverage. Could you have at least asked something for more valuable like a first-round pick? Probably, Marner is a perennial playmaker in the league. Roy did serve as a valuable piece at times as a third line centre, but there at least could’ve been something else to get in the process. 

As Elliotte Friedman wrote, Vegas pursued and knew that they can get him if the chance presented itself and it did. With Marner gone, it’s still a glaring hole that needs to be filled. Treliving not making that a priority as soon as it happened with no opportunity presenting itself in the offseason, it’s a failure on his part. 

2. The 2026 Trade Deadline

The 2026 Trade Deadline was an opportunity for Treliving to right his wrongs and get assets for his players that were on the market. It started off well as he flipped Roy for a first-round pick in 2028 from the Colorado Avalanche. That led to many hoping that things were looking right, but actually was met with underwhelming results. 

Then came deadline day as Treliving whiffed on some of his valuable assets. Bobby McMann went to the Seattle Kraken for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fourth-round pick in 2026 and Scott Laughton was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional third-round pick in 2026. Considering what other players went for, the returns were failures as it felt like Treliving panicked just to get something done. 

McMann easily could’ve gone for two seconds or even a first seeing he had 19 goals and 32 points with the Maple Leafs and now registering seven goals and 11 points for the Kraken. The fact that Treliving couldn’t get a haul for a power forward winger is tough to watch. With Laughton, Treliving wasn’t going to get what he got for him in the first place, but securing a second would’ve been best instead of having a condition on it. Other depth centres went for that price, why didn’t Treliving fight harder for it? If it wasn’t for the Roy trade, Treliving would’ve received a lower grade. 

1. The Brandon Carlo Trade

This really isn’t any debate as this trade with the Boston Bruins is truly Treliving’s worst move. At the time, it was a move that really did have some merit with Brandon Carlo being a right-shot, physical shutdown defender. Giving up Fraser Minten was a risk, but the top-five protected pick is what’s coming back to haunt them.

In hindsight, no one expected the Maple Leafs to be this bad this season. Carlo himself hasn’t quite lived up to expectations, where the physical and defensive play haven’t been where it needs to be for him to be successful. While this season could be a one-off, that pick– which is in the hands of the Bruins right now– could eventually be costly. If the Maple Leafs finish outside of the top-five, the Bruins keep it and they lose out on a potentially impactful prospect. Treliving lost out on the conditions of the pick once again and now it’s having a drastic impact on the team’s standings, their future and pipeline.

This alone sums up Treliving’s tenure with the Maple Leafs as this was his worst deal to date as the implications are much greater. Not only did the Bruins get a top prospect in Minten, they’re going to get another via the pick if the Maple Leafs don’t find themselves in the top-five.