Leafs GM Brad Treliving Confirms Heightened Expectations For 3 New Maple Leafs, Including Matias Maccelli
Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving met with the media in Toronto on Tuesday, and took the opportunity to send a message to his newest acquisitions Dakota Joshua, Matias Maccelli and Nicolas Roy.
The Maple Leafs' 8-9-2 record through 19 games has not inspired a lot of confidence in the group this season, but the reality is that the only way out of the mess they've put themselves in is to push through and build better habits as the season progresses.
A part of the problem in Toronto has been the injuries, make no mistake about it. These issues are out of the team's control, but they have no choice but to deal with it and press on. Dwelling on the injuries is not going to help anyone, and as Treliving stated on Tuesday during his presser, worrying about the injuries is a "losing mentality".
Another issue has been the team's newcomers, who were brought in to replace the lost production following Mitch Marner's departure. So far, it's been a struggle.
None of Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy has excelled this season, with Maccelli's 8 points through 19 games leading the way. Maccelli was also recently made a healthy scratch by the team.
Joshua, who has an 18-goal season under his belt, has been perhaps the biggest disappointment with just 2 goals and a -7 rating despite playing in all 19 games.
Nicolas Roy was never expected to come in and be an offensive cog, but 1 goal and 4 points in 19 games also doesn't jump off the page -- at least not for any positive reasons.
Treliving touched on these three players during today's press conference, mentioning that the goal is to help them elevate their game and perform to the level of expectation that the club has set for them.
Well, the new guys, I think they would tell you -- and I'm not here to start singling out people, but I think there's a different level that they can get to... They need to be better. We've got to [give them a path] to be better. We've got to continue to work with them to be better, but certainly the expectation is they can and will be better.
We can't just look at the 3 newest players on the team and put the onus on them to pull the team out of its funk. Clearly, it's going to take all 12 forwards, 6 defensemen and both goaltenders, as well as the reserves, to right the ship -- especially with the team so banged up.
Granted, Maccelli, Roy and Joshua haven't been great, but it does sound like the team has a plan in place to help these players get to the level that they need to be at to help the team.
Previously on Toronto Hockey Daily
| POLL |
NOVEMBRE 18 | 1030 ANSWERS Leafs GM Brad Treliving Confirms Heightened Expectations For 3 New Maple Leafs, Including Matias Maccelli Which new addition for the Leafs do you think has been the most disappointing so far this season? |
| Matias Maccelli | 253 | 24.6 % |
| Dakota Joshua | 451 | 43.8 % |
| Nicolas Roy | 326 | 31.7 % |
| List of polls |