Regardless of how you feel about Mitch Marner, the departure of the regular near 100-point player leaves a gap in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward group. And unable to attract some of the top talent on the free agent market this year, most of whom signed extensions and stayed put, there’s still work to be done in building Toronto’s roster moving forward.

So while the day isn’t officially done for the Maple Leafs, it seems unlikely any of the remaining names are game changers for Toronto, leaving them with just over $5 million in cap space left.

With that in mind, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving addressed media on Tuesday afternoon to talk about next steps for the team following the day’s lukewarm Free Agent Frenzy. In the absence of Marner, Treliving said the team’s main priority is still to add another top-six forward.

“The top part of our lineup, the top six of our lineup, is the area that we’re focused on right now,” Treliving said, per the Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan. “We’ll see how things play out from here.”

While the Leafs have done good work in building up their depth and size this offseason, for Treliving there’s still more work to be done from a skill standpoint. And as he sees the free agent market becoming “thinner and thinner,” Treliving will likely be looking to add via trade this summer. Asked whether he’s primarily looking for a winger or centre, he stayed mum, but addressed the market demand for the middle position.

“We will see,” Treliving said, per The Hockey News’ Nick Barden. “I know everybody wants to talk about second line centres. Probably by my count, 27 teams are looking for them.”

With top-six forwards on the mind, Treliving also spoke about Marner, offering clarity on the circumstances that led to his departure.

“Certainly we approached Mitch to engage him on a contract,” he said, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. “As is his right, Mitch and his representative wanted to wait until the year was done…as is his right and was negotiated, Mitch has a full no-move, so he controlled the process.”

Treliving declined to comment on questions of tampering with regards to the Golden Knights, and if that may have played a factor in getting the sign-and-trade done.

So while it wasn’t the most exciting Canada Day for the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s certainly more to come. Treliving is being cautious with his remaining cash and looking to spend it wisely, isn’t that the most exciting outcome of all?