Brad Treliving reveals why he didn't trade Matthews, Marner, Nylander or Tavares this summer

Before Treliving was hired by the Maple Leafs, President of Hockey Ops, Brendan Shanahan, spoke with the media and revealed that it was his intention to keep the Leafs' core together this summer. As it turns out, Treliving also felt as though that was the best option as well.

In a recent sit-down with The Athletic's Jonas Siegel, the Leafs' GM was asked whether or not he thought about mixing things up and changing the core this summer. He explained why he chose not to do so.

This is a mature approach for Treliving to have taken. Most other GMs would want to come in and make a move for the sake of putting their own fingerprints on this team. The fact that Treliving took a more methodical approach, and also a much more human approach, goes to show that perhaps Shanahan and company picked the right guy for the job.

If the goal is to make the Leafs a better team, you don't accomplish that goal by trading away a top player for a return that may be somewhat underwhelming. Tavares had a full NMC, so he wouldn't have been moved. Marner's NMC kicked in on July 1st, as did Auston Matthews' NMC, but those guys were never on the block anyway. Nylander, for as much as people criticize his play, is a great player on a steal of a contract this year ($6.96M). Also, there weren't many trades involving Nylander that would have shown the Leafs as the clear winners in the deal, so most moves for the Swedish winger might have been viewed as a downgrade.

The truth here is that we won't know whether or not running it back was the right decision until April-June. A lengthy playoff run or a Cup victory means that Treliving and company made the right call. Another early exit - well, maybe a trade would have put them in a better position to be able to win.