Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving conducted a mid-season review for the media on Monday afternoon after practice at the Ford Performance Centre.
Question: It’s less than two months until the NHL trade deadline (March 7). How much do you start focusing on that?
Brad Treliving: “A lot gets made of the deadline, but you’re always watching games and looking for ways to improve your team.
“It’s not always external. The one thing with the amount of injuries we’ve had this year is be able to take a look at what we have internally. We’ve seen guys come up and play well. It gives you a little insight into what you have in the organization. Guys get put into different roles, guys come up from the Marlies and the Marlies are having a heck of a year.
“We’ve had our pro scouting meetings, our amateur scouting meetings this past week. We’re meeting-ed out. We’re ready now. You’re always assessing the market (for) external help.”
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Q: How much of the future are willing to mortgage (in a trade)?
BT: “That’s a pretty open-ended question. That’s the balance in seeing what’s available. It’s not fantasy hockey. But you look at teams and need to have those good, young players, quite frankly on entry-level deals and lower money. Those help give you success.”
Q: How important is it to get clarity from Mitch Marner and John Tavares on their contracts before the deadline so you can plan for the cap, in terms of maybe bringing in someone with term?
BT: “Certainly having guys sign gives you the exact number. You can probably throw a dart in the vicinity if they aren’t signed. But again, you work at it until there’s a deal.”
Q: Where do you stand with contract extensions for Mitch, John and Matthew Knies?
BT: “Those are things we’re always talking about, but nothing to report on.”
Q: What kind of centre are you looking to acquire?
BT: “Did I say I was looking for a centre? (laughing). Listen, you want good players, if there’s one out there who fits, who’s reliable on both sides of the puck, certainly someone who can add offence, all those things.
“But what we want and what’s available are two different things. So, we will keep looking.”
Q: Did you see enough in (centre) Fraser Minten that he could be a guy who could help in the back end of the year?
BT: “Yes, he’s having a great year, had a great start with us. You just saw the effects of the league on a young player. It’s hard on a first-year guy. I think the world of Fraser. He can help — (but) is that now or six months from now, or a year?
“Is Fraser coming in ahead of someone else from (a trade)? I don’t know because I don’t know who that person is.”
Q: Where are you on centre depth?
BT: “We have it, we have lots of guys who can play the position. Is it an area we try and upgrade on? I’d say the guys at the top of the food chain like Auston Matthews are pretty good. And how can you talk anything but positively about the year John Tavares has had?
“So, to say you’re going to get someone above that, it’s not realistic. Can we look at ways to add to that? Sure. But we, probably with along 15 or 18 teams, want depth. It seems to be a position du jour.”
Q: With Matthews coming back a second time, are you confident the worst of what he was dealing with (a mystery upper body injury) is done?
BT: “He’s doing well. The question at that time (last month) was asked, but nothing is 100%. We’re all day-to-day, aren’t we? We gave it a lot of time, he put a lot of work into getting through it and touch wood, we’re on the other side of it.
“You can see by his play since he’s been back, he’s feeling good and we’re hopeful it’s behind him.”
Q: Will his participation in the 4 Nations Faceoff for the U.S. be a conversation point?
BT: “When we get there (next month), but there’s nothing at this point to make me worry. With all the players, you look at where they’re at then and hopefully there are no setbacks.”
Q: Given the talent level here, are you surprised the power play and 5-on-5 play isn’t quite there?
BT: “The power play certainly. It should be at the top and has been a top power play for a number of years. That to me is an area that can get cleaned up.
“The 5-on-5, it goes in fits and starts. You talk about your top guys for the early part of our season, it seemed we were being carried by some of the big boys and we had some depth scoring.
“I think the pieces are in place that we should score enough. The power play needs to be a difference maker for us and it has not been.”
On the general state of the Leafs
BT: “The over-riding thing in the first half is we’ve had a lot of people out of the lineup. I proud of how the group responded, they were able to get points in different ways (and hold first place in the division).
“I’m happy with a couple of things we talked about at the beginning of the year, to improve out checking and defending. I think we’ve done that and are viewed as a team that checks well, defends the front of the net and doesn’t give up a lot of easy nights.
“Looking back on last year, the penalty kill is certainly an area we wanted to improve on. Goaltending has been a real strength. With Anthony Stolarz going down three weeks ago, Joseph Woll has really carried the ball, we’ve had Dennis Hildeby and Matt Murray come in. We’ve shown some depth there.
“Hopefully with some health and stability, we get a look at what the group is, as originally constructed. But there are some areas (of concern), the power play, our ability to generate offence 5-on-5.”
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