Brad Treliving’s coaching search before Craig Berube landed behind the Maple Leafs bench took a quick detour through Joel Quenneville, but it never got very far. According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, Treliving spoke with Quenneville about the job, only to learn that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment wanted no part of him. That was enough to shut the door, and Berube ended up getting the position.
The episode is a useful reminder that the Leafs’ coaching decisions are not made by the general manager alone. MLSE has its own standards and its own say in who gets considered, and in this case that influence appears to have ended the Quenneville possibility before it really started. Whatever Treliving may have thought of Quenneville as a coach, ownership had already drawn its line.
The same theme of fit shows up in the player movement side of the story, and the contrast is hard to miss. Jack Roslovic has looked like a strong get for Toronto, producing at a level that suggests the Leafs may have unlocked something that other teams couldn’t.
Over the past three seasons, if he had been putting up these numbers with the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Rangers, or the Columbus Blue Jackets, he probably would not have been on the move. He has topped 40 points only twice in his career, but now he is on pace for more than 80 with Toronto.
That kind of jump points to the right mix of opportunity, linemates and environment. Roslovic seems to have found all three.
Matthew Knies is living the other side of that coin in Columbus. Since being traded there, he has had a harder time settling in and has looked like a player still searching for his footing.
Whatever the Blue Jackets expected him to provide, they have not seen it consistently yet. It is a straightforward reminder that changing teams does not automatically change a player’s results.
For the Maple Leafs, the two stories land together in an interesting way. One shows a player thriving once he finds the right situation.
The other shows how rocky that adjustment can be when the fit is off. Toronto wants players who can settle in, contribute and keep producing.
Roslovic is doing that right now, and if he keeps this up, the Leafs will have found something valuable. Knies’ path in Columbus may still change, but for now his story is the tougher one.
In Other News...
Maple Leafs Suddenly Have An Oliver Ekman-Larsson Decision To Make
Oliver Ekman-Larssons first season with the Maple Leafs has not gone the way anyone in Toronto would have hoped. Through 19 games, he has managed just one assist, and the overall picture has been one of a veteran defenseman looking a step slower than the club expected when it brought him in.
That has left the Maple Leafs with a real roster question as injuries begin to settle down and younger blueliners push for more opportunity. If Toronto decides it needs to open up those minutes, Ekman-Larsson becomes the kind of movable piece that could be on the table, even if the timing and the return remain very much in flux. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Fans Are Already Debating A Blockbuster This Team May Need
Leafs chatter has a way of turning hypothetical ideas into full-blown debates, and this latest one is no exception. On social media, fans have been tossing around the kind of blockbuster framework that instantly grabs attention because it involves two of Torontos most recognizable names and a fresh angle on how the roster might be reshaped.
The appeal is obvious on the surface, but the practical hurdles are just as clear. Morgan Riellys no-trade clause complicates any move involving him, and William Nylander remains too important to Torontos attack to be treated lightly in any serious discussion. On the other side, there are also questions about whether Dylan Larkin would even consider a move north, which leaves this as more of a fan-driven thought experiment than a deal with real traction. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Suddenly Have A Shot At An Elite Young Scorer
The Maple Leafs are suddenly in the mix for a player who would change the look of their forward group if they can find a way to make it work. Reports from Kevin Weekes and other league sources say Flyers winger Matvei Michkov is available under unusual circumstances, and with Toronto always hunting for more high-end scoring, a young talent of that caliber is the kind of name that naturally jumps to the front of the conversation.
Michkov is in the final year of his contract, which only adds to the intrigue around what Philadelphia might do next and how aggressive interested teams can afford to be. For Toronto, the challenge is obvious: any serious pursuit would come at a steep price in assets and money, but the payoff would be landing one of the leagues most gifted young scorers at a time when that kind of upside is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]