The whole attractiveness of Brad Treliving was centered around the idea that he would be the complete antithesis of Kyle Dubas, who was criticized—fairly or unfairly—for making bold transactions and having a penchant for player-friendly contracts. Brendan Shanahan was always drawn to Treliving’s conservatism during the general manager search, if there was one at all, as Shanahan practically hinted that Treliving was the one for him. Treliving sat idly by with a triptych of practical moves in the midst of another pivotal year in the Maple Leafs’ contention timeline, with William Nylander and Auston Matthews reaching peak form and the weight of crushed playoff dreams mounting. Meanwhile, nearly a dozen teams made genuine improvements at the deadline.
Ilya Lyubushkin, an all-defense, no-offense right-shot option who provides Morgan Rielly with a right-shot partner despite being unfit to play against top-line competition, was acquired by Toronto in exchange for two draft picks in 2024 and 2025. Treliving then sent a 2024 third-round and a 2025 fifth-round selection to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Joel Edmundson, who is best renowned for his brutal cross-checks in front of the net but has little defensive influence because of his poor puck-moving abilities. And with time to spare before Friday’s deadline, Treliving acquired Connor Dewar for a 2026 fourth-round pick. Dewar plays 11 minutes a night for the Minnesota Wild and is best suited as a fourth-line center.
After the deadline ended on Friday afternoon, Treliving told reporters, “It was a normal trade deadline day.” “A lot of work has gone into getting ready for today. Several of the things we had our sights set on accomplishing before today—deals that could have been deemed more significant—were probably not going to happen. Now that you are working with the personnel, you are examining potential areas for improvement. The team deserves praise for their hard effort; the final few days are quite demanding. It was, in my opinion, just another typical trade deadline day.
