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Brad Treliving defends Craig Berube, acknowledges Maple Leafs’ collective need to be better
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Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Coyle
Mar 7, 2026, 08:00 ESTUpdated: Mar 6, 2026, 23:01 EST
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The National Hockey League trade deadline has officially completed, and on Saturday, when the Toronto Maple Leafs take the ice to host the Tampa Bay Lightning, they will look different. 
Currently sitting eight points out of the playoff picture and mired in a six-game losing streak, Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs brass opted to be sellers for the first time in a decade. Between Thursday and Friday, the Maple Leafs moved Nicolas Roy, Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton, bringing back five selections over the next two drafts. 
Appearing on TSN’s show Overdrive with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLellan on Friday following the deadline, Treliving spoke on the return of the three players dealt off the club’s roster. 
“We were hoping to garner more young assets,” Treliving said. “We put a plan in place leading up to the Olympic break, communicating with other teams to try and get a feel for what they were doing. So our goal going in was to be active to help regain as many young assets as we possibly could. But ultimately at the end of the day, the market dictates what teams want and need and what they are willing to pay for it.”
With 19 games to go, the Maple Leafs fans would like to see some positives that will help restore belief that this team can return to the levels showcased during the previous nine seasons, when the Maple Leafs found themselves competing for the Stanley Cup. 
“The deadline’s behind us. We’re professionals and sometimes you need to go out and work even if it’s somewhere you don’t want to be,” Treliving said. “You watch when things are going well and when things are poor. We are going to continue to watch to see how people react. I expect that we will go out and compete, be professional and do the job that we’re paid to do.” 
Much has been made of the possibility that Maple Leafs’ players are tuning out head coach Craig Berube as the struggles have mounted. Treliving touched on how he sees Berube’s status as the 2025-26 season winds down. 
“I think Craig’s a good coach. It hasn’t gone well and there’s criticism,” Treliving said. “There’s lots of criticism for all of us. We will all be evaluated at the end of the season and I think that when all of us look back, management and players included, there’s things that we could have done better and should have done better. But at this particular time, Craig’s going to remain the coach.”
Later in the day, Treliving also made an appearance on Sportsnet’s Real Kyper and Bourne show with Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne, where the Maple Leafs general manager touched on what the plan is for the team upon completion of the deadline and heading into next year. 
“There needs to be change to our team, we need to reconfigure ourselves,” Treliving said. “I know when things have gone the way they have, there’ll be lots of noise that everything has to go out the door, but I don’t necessarily see it that way. We have a plan that we’re going to look to execute, but no doubt there needs to be change.” 
The Maple Leafs will host the Lightning on Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.
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