Treliving Has A Few More Moves Up His Sleeve

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Tyler Ball
August 23, 2023 (12:37)

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Brad Treliving has had an active first offseason in his role as General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although he has improved the roster Treliving still has a few more moves to go before the opening night lineup is set.

Treliving's Additions

The big additions for Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason were Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, Ryan Reaves and John Klingberg. The first three were brought in to make the Leafs harder to play against while Klingberg was brought in to add extra offense from the blueline which seemed to be lacking during the playoffs.

These additions have been met with positive feedback from fans so far. However, many fans and analysts still see a massive hole that needs fixing in the Leafs lineup.

The Defense

The Leafs defense has been a point of conversation all summer long. As we mentioned John Klingberg was added to the group. This does not solve their in-zone defense and need for added physicality though. While the Leafs' defense wasn't atrocious in their own end it is certainly an area where they need to improve.

Here is the projected opening night roster :

Forwards:

Line 1: Tyler Bertuzzi � Auston Matthews � William Nylander

Line 2: Matthew Knies � John Tavares � Mitch Marner

Line 3: Max Domi � David Kämpf � Nick Robertson

Line 4: Sam Lafferty � Pontus Holmberg � Ryan Reaves

Defence:

Line 1: Morgan Reilly � T.J. Brodie

Line 2: Jake McCabe � John Klingberg

Line 3: Mark Giordano � Timothy Liljegren

Goaltenders:

Starter: Ilya Samsonov

Backup: Joseph Woll

Cap Compliance

Currently, the Toronto Maple Leafs are projected to be $2,943,950 over the Salary Cap when long-term IR players are factored in. This means the team will have to move some players around to get cap-compliant. Whether that's through waivers or through trade it remains to be seen but it sure feels like something's got to give. The Leafs are likely to continue to address roster needs such as the need for a physical defenseman.

While it is easier to judge Brad Treliving on his moves so far waiting to see what he does to set the final roster will be important before judgment can be made.

One of the main things Treliving vowed to do was fix the defensive core which means that should be a focus heading into the season as well as heading toward the eventual trade deadline.

As Read On- Editor In Leaf - WE HAVE TO HOLD OFF JUDGING THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS OFFSEASON