Report: New Leafs GM Has Already Reached Out To Star Player

The ink wasn't even dry on new Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving's contract (in fact, it wasn't even signed yet), before he already reached out to the team's Hart Trophy winner (2022) Auston Matthews. That's the word from Sportsnet's Leafs Insider Luke Fox.

Gonna have to see Treliving actually make a move or two before I start judging him, but this is an encouraging start pic.twitter.com/I5fcraxHcg

— Аlex Hobson (@AHobsonMedia) May 31, 2023

The formal Toronto introduction of the former Calgary Flames' GM will happen on Thursday, but important machinations are already underway. 

There's no doubt that Treliving's most important task after he takes over the reins will be to sit down with superstar Matthews and see where he's at in terms of an extension to stay in Toronto. He becomes eligible for that new deal in just over four weeks, on July 1st.  

Even before signing up his multi-year pact with the Maple Leafs, a contract that should extend Shanahan’s own current deal, Treliving reached out to Auston Matthews’ camp to open the lines of communication with the franchise’s brightest star.

                                                                                —Leafs Insider Luke Fox 

The hiring makes sense for the Leafs on a number of levels, but as Fox notes, Treliving proved his ability to make bold moves (something Toronto could be in for this summer) last year in Calgary. 

"Treliving’s willingness to pull the trigger and deal a drafted-and-developed superstar for legitimate prime talent as soon as (Matthew) Tkachuk made it clear he wanted out is precisely the type of blockbuster experience that puts him in good shape to handle the job of Maple Leafs GM," writes Fox. 

We'll hear more from the horse's mouth on Thursday. 

Photo: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports