Historically, Brad Treliving Does His Best Work in July and the Leafs May Be About to Swing Big

After a disappointing start to free agency, the Toronto Maple Leafs will now have to work the phones in order to address their biggest need, which, at the moment, would be a top-6 forward.

Mitch Marner's loss was always going to be massive, and finding the right fit for Auston Matthews on the first line is paramount before the season begins.

Free agency was always going to be a tough to navigate because of the lack of top-tier talent that was going to be made available.

Outside of Marner, everyone was focused on what Florida was going to do with Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand - before Panthers GM Bill Zito managed to extend them all.

Treliving attempted to sign Brock Boeser before he chose to return to Vancouver, and he also reportedly kicked tires on a trade for Jordan Kyrou from the St. Louis Blues before his NTC kicked in on July 1st -- to no avail.

While it's a little doom and gloom right now with how the Maple Leafs look on paper, perhaps looking back at Brad Treliving's history with the Calgary Flames can bring about some optimism and hope.

As the architect of the Flames, Treliving saved his best work for the months of July and August, having swung for players like Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Nikita Zadorov, Dan Vladar, and Milan Lucic.

Treliving also moved top centre Sean Monahan, which further denotes his inability to sit still when his roster needs work.

The Maple Leafs weren't the only team that was left unfulfilled through free agency, which has led many insiders to believe that trade season is upon us.

Before the draft, there were a slew of talented players placed on the chopping block and one has to imagine that those talks will be revisited in the near future.

The Maple Leafs have a lot of work to do from now to opening night, but if Treliving brings that same level of aggressiveness and the willingness to make shrewd moves, we should be in store for an exciting summer filled with plenty of rumours and action.