Player agent familiar with Brad Treliving reveals what the Leafs are getting in the diligent, veteran GM

There are some who have not taken the news so well, viewing Treliving as a clear downgrade from now ex-Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. In some ways, I'm sure you can make a case that he might be a bit of a downgrade in some areas, but how much of that is due to the differences between the Flames' operating budget and the Leafs' operating budget?

One area where Treliving may be a substantial upgrade is at the negotiating table. It seemed, during Dubas' tenure in Toronto, that he, at times, had been taken to the woodshed during contract negotiations - particularly when it comes to the Matthews and Marner deals. Nobody is arguing that Matthews doesn't deserve every penny of his $11.6M cap hit, but the 5-year term on the deal was less than ideal and probably should have been 8 years. Meanwhile, Marner absolutely raked the Leafs' feet over the coals to squeeze every last dollar out of Dubas, settling on a deal worth $10.9M per season - again, less than an 8-year term.

As far as Treliving goes, yes, he has handed out some pretty substantial contracts to some rapidly aging players in Calgary, but he has also put his nose to the grindstone and gotten deals done where many suggested that deals were unlikely. Take the Huberdeau and Weegar deals, for example. Some believed that Huberdeau was intent on playing out the final year of his deal in Calgary and then signing with the Montreal Canadiens. Weegar, another pending UFA seemed destined to test the market as well. Treliving found a way to lock them both up for 8 years in Calgary in one of the worst arenas in the NHL.

Per an anonymous player agent who has dealt with Treliving in the past, he is an intelligent, determined, assertive general manager who finds a way to get things done, even in the face of adversity. We saw that during the Matthew Tkachuk ordeal and in how he addressed the loss of Johnny Gaudreau in free agency last summer, luring Nazem Kadri to Calgary when most had him earmarked for Long Island to reunite with Lou Lamoriello.

Honestly, when you break things down into the simplest of facts, the Kyle Dubas-led Leafs won exactly one playoff round in 5 years. One. Treliving's Flames won playoff rounds in 2 of the last 4 seasons with, arguably, a worse roster than that of the Leafs.

We've seen, on a number of occasions, situations where teams are built a certain way by a certain GM, but then elevated to the next level by the next GM in line. Perhaps the Dubas-built Leafs are in a situation now where Treliving can come in and put his own spin on the team Dubas built to help put them over the top. We can only hope.