Brad Treliving's Best Off-Season Hire For the Maple Leafs Isn't Craig Berube
Brad Treliving made a lot of off-season moves to fix the Toronto Maple Leafs, but his best acquisition wasn't his head coach or a player: It's Lane Lambert.
Brad Treliving had several goals this offseason, mainly shoring up the Toronto Maple Leafs on both defense and goaltending. He did just that with key acquisitions like Chris Tanev and Anthony Stolarz, and even brought a new head coach to give a new voice and mindset to a team who was feeling stagnant.
But with all the transactions, one seemed to have gone fairly quiet, but it has made the Maple Leafs one of the best teams on the penalty kill and slowly begun turning them into masterminds of special teams defense:
The hiring of former New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert was one that felt like a good change, but one that wasn't necessarily supposed to come in and completely overhaul things so quickly but here we are.
From ranking near the bottom in 2023-24, the new-look penalty kill has fought off 16 straight penalties and are currently 6th in the NHL on the PK with 86%. The additions on goaltending and defense have certainly helped out, and the fact that Anthony Stolarz's emergence as the true starter for the Maple Leafs is key to that 86% penalty kill rate.
When Lambert was coach of the Islanders, he led one of the better penalty killer units in the league during his time, clearly in the ear of his associates to set them on the right path. His team also ranked 5th in his first full season in goals against, and averaged less than 3 goals against per game. He's a defensive maestro and has been a big factor into why the Maple Leafs have been more consistent defensively.
Head coach Craig Berube also mentioned to the media after Tuesday's shutout win against Boston, that Lambert's hiring came at the behest of former Predators head coach and current GM Barry Trotz. Trotz recommended Lambert for the job after working with him in New York and if anyone can recommend a defensive-minded coach it's none other than the stonewall Trotz, known for stout back-end success during his time in Nashville.
Brad Treliving made a lot of noise this off-season with the numerous roster additions and bringing in Craig Berube. But his best move isn't flashy, or a big name. It was finding the best coach for the job, and boy did he find it. Lane Lambert has made Toronto who they are this season, the evidence is there.
