Treliving makes surprising remarks about Leafs defense; major changes could be coming
Brad Treliving was officially introduced as the Leafs' new GM and the 18th General Manager in team history yesterday in what was a fairly short press conference. Following that, Treliving made a number of media appearances with one being on Sportsnet's The Real Kyper and Bourne show with Justin Bourne and Nick Kypreos.
On the show, they asked him a number of questions about the team and what he is looking for in how the team plays. Treliving discussed a number of things, but one thing caught the attention of Bourne. Treliving's insinuation that there could be room for improvement on the blueline.
"Do we look at our defense? Is there ways we can augment that?" said Treliving, which led to a surprised reaction from Bourne and Kypreos. The Leafs have typically had a collection of blueliners that can skate and move the puck under Kyle Dubas, and even though all of them are under contract for next season, minus Justin Holl, and Luke Schenn (for now), Treliving hinted at the possibility of changing the mix, touching on playoff hockey and implying that the Leafs need to get "heavier". In Calgary, Treliving had a well-balanced mix of puck-moving and physical defeders and it sounds like he would like to replicate that in Toronto to make them more difficult to play against, particularly in the playoffs.
Of course, his top priority is to get Auston Matthews to put pen to paper on an extension on July 1st, but from what Treliving said, it would appear that altering the defensive make-up of the Leafs is high on his list as well.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 2 | 388 ANSWERS Treliving makes surprising remarks about Leafs defense; major changes could be coming Which Leafs defenseman do you think will be the first to be traded this summer? | ||
| T.J. Brodie | 149 | 38.4 % |
| Mark Giordano | 38 | 9.8 % |
| Timothy Liljegren | 81 | 20.9 % |
| Other | 120 | 30.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
