According to Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving, achieving the significant post-season success that the fanbase eagerly desires requires a fundamental change in the team`s approach.
This was the core message delivered by the Maple Leafs` GM on Thursday during his first press conference since the team`s season concluded. Speaking from the practice facility in Etobicoke, Ontario, Treliving reflected on the disappointing end.
Just eleven days prior, Toronto`s once-promising playoff journey ended abruptly with a crushing 6-1 defeat in Game 7 against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers have since reached their third consecutive Stanley Cup Final. The decisive loss at Scotiabank Arena was marked by visible frustration from fans, including objects thrown onto the ice and widespread boos.
After reviewing the final game several times, Treliving concluded that the Game 7 loss stemmed from more than just strategic missteps or missed opportunities on the ice.
“It brought to mind a game I was involved in. I`ve discussed it with Shane Doan,” Treliving shared on Thursday. “We were in Arizona, playing Detroit in Game 7. We had won an afternoon Game 6 in Detroit and returned for Game 7. You`re incredibly pumped up for a Game 7.”
“And one team appeared completely at ease in that situation – while the other team did not.”
Duncan Priestley 
Neville Woodall