Leafs GM Brad Treliving Missed A Big Opportunity This Offseason With Free Agent Forward
Brad Treliving had the chance to add some firepower this offseason and fielded an offer for Stefan Noesen, who signed with New Jersey and is tearing up the NHL.
It was a quiet offseason for Brad Treliving, at least when it came to the offense. The only thing he did was re-sign Nick Robertson (a great idea at first, but the results prove otherwise) and he added Alex Nylander to the Marlies, but there's no indication he'll be up anytime soon.
There were a few names on the market that he could have signed that went under the radar, but one is currently tearing up the NHL:
Who is Stefan Noesen?
Stefan Noesen, a 1st-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2011, is absolutely killing it this season. Heading into Thursday's game he had 7 goals and 7 assists and added two goals for the Devils pushing his total to 16 points in 20 games this year.
After bouncing around the league with Anaheim, New Jersey (first time), Pittsburgh, San Jose, Toronto (one game), Carolina, then back to New Jersey in 2024. He's made his rounds through the NHL but has made a solid if quiet name for himself.
After a few struggling seasons where he never found his footing, Noesen had back-to-back 10+ goal seasons in 2022 and 2023 but has found some new superpower to nearly eclipse his goal total from last season, a career-high 14 goals. He's the type of power forward Toronto needed; a big, strong, scoring winger who can throw hits and make a difference regardless of time spent on the ice.
Noesen would have slotted nicely into the Maple Leafs' third line and could have given Max Domi a bit of a reprieve when it came to handling the offense on the third line (though he's also done a poor job), and the explosion of offense and initiative he's taking would have made Toronto even deadlier.
It was a signing many in the NHL didn't expect to be coming out of the woodwork and performing this way, and much like Brad Treliving, GMs are kicking themselves at missing out as New Jersey reaps the benefits.
| POLL | ||
Should the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Stefan Noesen? | ||
| Yes, the evidence is there | 165 | 29.5 % |
| No, we needed defense and goaltending | 317 | 56.7 % |
| Trade for him now | 77 | 13.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
