Brad Treliving Pushes Back on Leafs' Sports Science Criticism: “We’ve Got a Plethora of People”
Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving isn’t one to get caught up in job titles - especially when it comes to how his team handles player health and performance. After a recent story questioned the Leafs’ decision not to replace their former director of high performance, Treliving stepped forward to defend the organization’s approach to sports science, player rehab, and injury prevention.
The criticism came from Jeremy Bettle, who once held the same director position with the Leafs and voiced concerns about the team’s current structure after Rich Rotenberg, his successor, departed for the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer. Bettle’s main issue? That the Leafs didn’t bring in a new director-level hire to replace Rotenberg - a move he felt could impact injury prevention and overall player care.
But Treliving isn’t buying that narrative.
“You guys get wrapped up in one guy’s fancy title,” he said on Thursday. “I don’t get wrapped up in titles. I get wrapped up in people doing the jobs.”
According to Treliving, the Leafs didn’t ignore the vacancy - they just addressed it differently. Instead of hiring a new director, the team redistributed responsibilities and expanded the staff in other ways. That included promoting Trevor Bartoli to assistant strength coach and performance coordinator, a role that now involves coordinating player schedules and playing a key part in the return-to-play process for injured skaters.
Treliving emphasized the shift wasn’t about cutting corners - it was about putting more hands on deck. “I would think having more people working on the players is better for it,” he said.
“I would say we’ve got the largest number of people working on players. I haven’t gone out and asked all the other teams, but if we don’t have the largest [staff in the NHL], we’re right there - hands on, working on injuries, working on rehab, doing everything for prevention.”
And when asked why the Leafs couldn’t have both a new assistant strength coach and a director-level replacement, Treliving doubled down: “We do have both. We’ve got a coordinator that coordinates all that too.”
It’s not just about strength and conditioning, either. The Leafs have added an assistant dietitian, another assistant strength coach, a third assistant athletic therapist, and consultants in mental health and mental performance. The team also continues to invest in sports science tech, including Catapult tracking systems to monitor player workloads, and has a robust data department supporting the medical and training staff.
Still, some players have acknowledged missing Rotenberg’s presence. William Nylander, speaking back in November after a game against Pittsburgh, said, “Obviously a guy that I miss.
He did a lot of things behind the scenes for the players, making sure they’re feeling good and stuff. He’s for sure missed.”
But Treliving insists the Leafs haven’t cut back - in fact, he says they’re spending more on sports science now than in his previous two seasons as GM. “We’ve got a plethora of people to handle the needs of the players,” he said.
As for Bettle’s suggestion that the Leafs’ structure - not the staff - might be contributing to injuries, Treliving pushed back hard. “It has nothing to do with the staff,” he said.
“To insinuate that in the article is erroneous. It’s false.”
Injuries have been a storyline for the Leafs this season, with the team losing nearly 200 man-games to injury. But Treliving points to something bigger than internal structure: the NHL’s condensed schedule, which was adjusted to accommodate an Olympic break. He cited leaguewide data showing a 42% spike in players landing on injured reserve between Oct. 1, 2025 and Jan. 28, 2026 compared to the same stretch last season.
“It looks like there’s a lot more injuries happening in the league,” Treliving said. “The schedule plays a factor in it; not that the Maple Leafs have cut their sports science department.”
At the end of the day, Treliving’s message is clear: the Leafs aren’t shortchanging their players when it comes to health and performance. They’ve just taken a different route - one that emphasizes collaboration over titles and hands-on care over hierarchy.