Maple Leafs GM Treliving says 'DNA' needs to change in team after playoff loss to Panthers

The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 29, 2025 1:05 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Toronto Maple Leafs wide manager Brad Treliving says to expect changes successful the off-season aft different playoff bust.

And not conscionable to the roster, but "between the ears," too.

Using the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers arsenic an example, Treliving said astatine a season-ending availability Thursday that determination indispensable beryllium changes successful the "DNA" of a squad that continues to fold successful large playoff moments contempt regular-season success.

"We've got to proceed to alteration and germinate our mindset, and we've got to find a mode to make the squad … to beryllium our precise champion astatine the astir captious moments," Treliving said.

Toronto finished the regular play successful archetypal spot successful the Atlantic Division and defeated the Ottawa Senators successful the archetypal circular for conscionable their 2nd playoff bid triumph successful the past 20 seasons.

The Leafs looked poised for a breakthrough erstwhile they won the archetypal 2 games of a second-round bid against the Panthers and went up 3-1 successful Game 3, earlier handing the momentum backmost to their hostile and yet losing successful 7 games.

Part of the illness included achy 6-1 losses astatine location successful Games 5 and 7, made much frustrating by a 2-0 triumph successful Game 6 successful Florida successful what was possibly the astir implicit Leaf show of the season.

"Champions person the quality to beryllium calm and astatine their precise champion erstwhile it matters the most," Treliving said. "That is an country we person to amended in."

Treliving said the Game 7 nonaccomplishment "is going to unrecorded with me."

"I felt truly bully that morning," helium said. "The vibe astir the squad … and past we had the effect we had."

Treliving credited Florida, which conscionable polished disconnected Carolina successful 5 games successful the Eastern Conference last to beforehand to their 3rd consecutive Cup final, with ever uncovering a mode to execute successful the moments that matter.

"There's a crushed wherefore they're the champions, there's a crushed wherefore they're going backmost again for their 3rd ace astatine it," Treliving said. "They've acceptable the barroom successful our division, they've acceptable the barroom successful the league. And that's what we aspire to."

The changes person already started successful Toronto, with the squad declining to renew the declaration of president Brendan Shanahan aft 11 seasons. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment president and main enforcement serviceman Keith Pelley said helium volition not regenerate Shanahan and alternatively enactment much intimately with Treliving and caput manager Craig Berube.

Under Shanahan, the Leafs rebuilt a foundering squad astir the "Core 4" forwards of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares.

While the squad recovered idiosyncratic and regular-season occurrence — the Leafs person precocious to the post-season successful each of the past 9 seasons and Matthews has won the Hart Trophy arsenic league MVP and 3 Rocket Richard awards arsenic the apical goal-scorer — the Leafs person faltered successful the post-season.

They are 0-6 successful Game 7s implicit the past 8 seasons, with 2 of those defeats coming connected Treliving's watch. Players look to wilt nether the unit to present for a rabid instrumentality basal that has not celebrated a Stanley Cup triumph since 1967.

Treliving made immoderate changes earlier the play to effort to code that issue, adding stalwart defenceman Chris Tanev and goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who had a fantastic play earlier being injured successful Game 1 of the 2nd round. Berube, a no-nonsense manager who led the St. Louis Blues to a Cup rubric successful 2019, was brought successful to regenerate the fashionable but yet unsuccessful Sheldon Keefe.

The changes this off-season are apt to beryllium much significant, with some Marner and Tavares acceptable to go unrestricted escaped agents connected July 1.

Marner is expected to beryllium 1 of the apical prizes connected the market, and Treliving faces a pugnacious task re-signing him, even if the Leafs brass judge helium inactive fits into the team's aboriginal plans.

Treliving called Marner, who has borne overmuch of the Toronto instrumentality base's choler astatine the myriad playoff failures, a "star." And helium called himself a "huge John Tavares fan."

But his abbreviated reply erstwhile discussing the aboriginal of the UFA's — "We'll see."

"It's affectional close now," Treliving said. "My treatment with Mitch is 'Let's each instrumentality a measurement back, let's each instrumentality a heavy breath. I request to decompress."