Treliving on potential Core Four trade: 'Being different doesn't make you better'
Published
Brad Treliving says he won't make a big move just for the sake of it.
Treliving was officially introduced to the media on Thursday morning as the 18th general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"I'm not about coming in to make a statement...just being different doesn't make you better," Treliving said.
Treliving says that while he's well aware of the contractual status of the team's key players, namely 2022 Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews, he doesn't foresee anything playing out in the media about Matthews or anybody else and noted that retaining Matthews is a top priority.
"We're not going to get into any public discourse about players' contracts," Treliving said. "We're talking about one of the elite players in the world...getting to Auston is a priority...we're prepared to get after it."
Two members of the so-called "Core Four," Matthews and winger William Nylander, are set to enter the final years of their current deals.
"There's a lot to do and the clock is ticking," Treliving admitted.
Matthews, 25, is playing out the last year of a five-year, $58.195 million deal, while the 27-year-old Nylander enters the final campaign of a six-year deal worth $45 million.
A 53-year-old native of Penticton, BC, Treliving spent the past nine seasons as GM of the Calgary Flames.
Prior to that, Treliving spent over a decade in the Arizona Coyotes organization.