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The Toronto Maple Leafs introduced Brad Treliving as their new general manager at a press conference at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday, as the club looks to move forward and stabilize after the surprising dismissal of GM Kyle Dubas last month.
The former Calgary Flames GM does not have a great deal of time before the NHL Draft and the onset of free agency and could arguably have more on his plate than any other executive, inheriting a head coach entering the final year of his contract, with 10 unrestricted free agents, and most importantly three of the club’s core group slated to have contractual no-trade/no-move restrictions dropping on July 1.
Here are some pressing items touched on by Treliving and Team President Brendan Shanahan:
On the opportunity with the Leafs:(Treliving)
"It's the Leafs, it means something. I sit in front of you today excited, humbled, looking at this as a great opportunity, but also knowing this is a great responsibility. There's a responsibility to the fans, the people that follow this team, the people that work here, and our players." Treliving said in his opening statement. "That's where we want to get to. I've got a responsibility to that group here to help them get to the level that we're trying to attain to."
On Sheldon Keefe:(Treliving)
"I have had a chance to communicate with Sheldon. I don't have a relationship with Sheldon, we spoke a couple of times years ago. But I've had a chance to talk to him. I'm gonna get with him. There's a lot of things that are priorities. Sheldon is as well. And as I said to him, it's a little unique situation, right? We can call it whatever we want. Right? We're all big boys here. There's been a change. My outside lens of Sheldon. I look at a team that the last two years as a full-time coach. 115 points and 111 points. I think he's a really good coach. My view is determining whether a guy is good, bad or indifferent. You have to work with him. You have to get to know him. So we're gonna sit down and we're gonna go through it. I'm coming in with no preconceived notions."
On The Management and Scouting Staff:(Treliving)
"One of the real draws for me, we talked about the people here, that goes off the ice, too. I've known Brandon Pridham a long time. I thought we had mailed them a check when I was in Arizona. We felt like he was on the payroll when he was working for the league, because we were owned by the league. but we leaned on him all the time. In my mind, one of the very best if not the best at what he does in the league. When you come into a job, it's really important. It's easy to sit up here and say 'we got all these problems', but I'm the beneficiary of the people that came before me. Kyle Dubas is a very close friend. We have a very good relationship. I think he's extremely smart. I think he's talented at what he does. And like I said, of the manager group. He's a close confidant. He's left me some really good pieces on the ice and off the ice."
On negotiations with Auston Matthews:(Treliving)
"I've had a chance to communicate with a few players. It's been a busy couple of days I communicated with Auston via text I know (Matthews agent) Judd (Moldaver), I've got a strong relationship with Judd. He is excellent at what he does. We're not going to get into any public discourse about contracts. Obviously, we know where these contracts are at. Auston is one of the elite players in the world. We're not talking about a good player in the league. We're talking about an elite player in the world. Getting to Auston is a priority."
On the Core Four:(Treliving)
"We're going to review everything. I want to stress strongly. I'm not about coming in and making a statement. You can throw a body onto the tarmac and it might look good for a headline, but are you getting any better? At the end of the day, it's about getting better and just being different, doesn't necessarily make you better. The other thing I'll say on that is, and I'm coming in from an outside lens. This idea of the "core four". My job is to protect them. It's to protect them and I'm fiercely protective of my players, but this can't be about the "core four". This is about the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's not about four players, not about two, it's not about one. It's about the 23 guys that we're going to have in this organization."
“We will look at all things.”
On Treliving’s Input On The Draft:(Shanahan)
"There were some restrictions imposed by the Calgary Flames, but we're not going to go into those details. I will say that I've talked to Brad about that. We have an excellent head scout in West Clark. We have an excellent scouting team. We pick in the first, fifth, and sixth rounds. They are still doing their job, they're preparing. That part won't change. We have the utmost confidence in our scouting staff."
On Treliving’s autonomy:(Shanahan)
"I've always believed that the general manager should have a good strong process, and we've been lucky here in Toronto, with the two people I hired which were Lou Lamoriello and Kyle Dubas had good process. They drew information from the people around them. But ultimately, the decision has to be made by the GM. That's how I've always operated, that's how I will continue to operate. I think that Brad is a collaborative person. I think he's looking forward to meeting our staff and so many of the resources that we built up here in Toronto, but I think he also has people in the hockey world that he relies on as well. And so Brad and I, our relationship will not be all that different than the very good one that Kyle and I had."
On Kyle Dubas Signing On With Pittsburgh As Pres Of Hockey Ops Just Before The Leafs Presser:(Shanahan)
"I don't think it was intentional timing. I've been in contact with the CEO of Fenway (Sports Group) Sam Kennedy. He and I are very close. We've talked several times over the last week about Kyle, so I think they want and need to get to work as well. I fully endorsed Kyle. I told Sam that he would be great for their organization, and I'm very happy for him."
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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