Treliving pulls all-nighter to address Leafs needs at the deadline
The Maple Leafs practised at Magness Arena at the University of Denver on Friday. General manager Brad Treliving met with the media at a hotel in downtown Denver.
---
Asked about the salary retention involved in a pair of deadline-day trades, a bleary-eyed Brad Treliving wasn't sure at first.
"I've been up for a long time," the Leafs general manager said before confirming, with an assist from media relations vice-president Steve Keogh, that it was 50 per cent for centre Scott Laughton, who is coming over from the Philadelphia Flyers, and 15 per cent for defenceman Brandon Carlo, who was acquired from the Boston Bruins.
Despite hunkering down inside a downtown Denver hotel on Thursday, Treliving didn't get much sleep ahead of the NHL's trade deadline.
"I pulled an all-nighter," he admitted with a smile. "But my all-nighters aren't as fun as they used to be."
The 55-year-old executive acknowledged it was hard to determine which players were actually available on Friday and which teams were actually selling.
"Always like to try to get things done as early as you can," he said. "And I was hoping that the blue-light specials would come on. They didn't come on as quick as I'd hoped."
It may have been a grind, but the patience paid off as the Leafs addressed their two biggest needs: centre depth and the right side of the blue line.
The Leafs prioritized acquiring players with term and Carlo is under contract through the 2026-27 season with a $3.485-million cap hit while Laughton is under contract through 2025-26 with a $1.5-million hit.
Treliving insists he wasn't influenced by the moves made by Atlantic Division rivals in Florida and Tampa Bay.
"You've got to be real focused on, and be disciplined on, executing the plan that we set out really back in January," Treliving said.
---
Carlo, who stands 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, projects to slot in beside Morgan Rielly in Toronto's top four and play a key role on the penalty kill.
"He's big," said Treliving. "He's long, great stick, defends the blue paint really well. Excellent on the penalty kill. Tremendous character. He's been a big part of the success that's gone on in Boston, and they've had a lot of it."
When it became clear that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was in sell mode,........
© TSN
