This time, the nhl/toronto-maple-leafs” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer” data-is-sponsored=”false”>Toronto Maple Leafs are facing some hard questions early as their struggles have multiplied in the 2025-26 season. Toronto sits at 25-21-9 and remains outside of a clear playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. While scoring has not been a major issue, defensive play is holding the team back, and injuries have made their situation worse.
With expectations still high, pressure is building across the organization. That pressure became a talking point on Leafs Morning Take this weekend. Former Maple Leafs general manager Gord Stellick shared blunt thoughts on the futures of head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving.
Stellick was asked whether management could allow Treliving to handle the trade deadline if ownership planned a change. He said both men should finish the season, even if a change feels possible.
“I think you have to – It’s funny, it has not happened a lot about situations like that,” Stellick said. “And usually it might be at – it’s about the draft, and even though the general manager will have confidence in the scouts, they’re there. So yeah, I think both of these guys will get the run to the end of the season, for better, for worse, for richer, for poor.
“I mean, it seemed like Keith Pelley, and, you forget, Brandon Shanahan was moved. Okay, and he was the top guy in the hockey organization. And Keith Pelley seemed to give real heaps of confidence to both Craig Berube and Brad Treliving. You know that he talked about wanting to work closer with them and all that, but at the end of the year – anything goes.”
Berube joined the Maple Leafs to help the team push past the second round of the playoffs and bring the Stanley Cup to Toronto. He replaced Sheldon Keefe in May 2024 and guided Toronto to a division title in his first season. That year ended with a second-round loss, but results showed progress. This season, however, has not followed the same path.
Treliving faces his own review, because this is his third season with the Leafs. Since joining in 2023, he reshaped the roster with a clear focus on defense and edge. He also locked up the core with long-term deals, apart from Marner, who got traded to Vegas last year.
But now, as the season gets away slowly, both Berube and Treliving are facing more and more pressure with each game.
Stellick suggests the Maple Leafs’ management can change fast
Stellick believes the confidence from an NHL team’s ownership does not always last past April. He also pointed to how quickly coaching and front office changes have happened in the past.
“Who would have thought John Tortorella was going to be out that abruptly, you know, last year, and who would have thought that Peter DeBoer was going to be out that abruptly?” Stellick said. “But it happens, and that’s understandable, and it would have been unexpected,
“But yeah, you got to take a look at the whole element: coaching, management, and players.”
The Maple Leafs found a brief relief on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks. It helped them end their six game loosing streak, which included a five-game sweep at home.
However, the Canucks are at the bottom of the League, and if the Maple Leafs struggled to win against them, this is not a good sign for their season ahead.
Edited by Ankit Kumar
