Brad Treliving Introduced By Maple Leafs, Lists "Priority No. 1"

The Toronto Maple Leafs officially introduced Brad Treliving as their new general manager this morning, and it didn't take long to get to the impending Auston Matthews extension possibility. As in, the very first question from the media. 

As we reported on Wednesday, Treliving reached out and made contact with the Leafs superstar even before he had a chance to sign his new deal.

Treliving says he’s communicated with Auston Matthews and says he has a relationship with Auston’s agent Judd Muldaver.

“Getting to Auston is a priority. Outside of the contract stuff it’s about building the relationship.”

— David Alter (@dalter) June 1, 2023

“Auston is one of the elite players in the world... Getting to Auston is a priority... Just building that relationship...

"That's priority No. 1"

As for whether he's planning to come in and make a big blockbuster move involving one of the 'Core Four' (Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, William Nylander), Treliving was very careful with his answer:

"We've got really good players... Having those players excites me. Like I said, they're world-class players... As a manager coming in, I'm pretty lucky to have them...

"You can throw a body under the tarmac and it might look good. But does it make you any better?

"This can't be about the 'Core Four', it's about the Toronto Maple Leafs... We'll look at everything."

"There's a lot to do, and the clock is ticking, as they say."