Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving on team's struggles: 'There's been too much vanilla'

"As we sit here today, we're not where we want to be or where we envision to be. Obviously, we've underperformed to this point. And I take full responsibility, I'm in charge of the hockey department, I put people in place on the ice. So, the responsibility lies with myself. And we start today and every day trying to get back up and going and improve where we are."

"We've just got to play a more connected game. Starting defensively, we've given up too much, and that's on our whole group. We're all turning up, right through our whole group. We've given up too much defensively, that wasn't this team last year, right? When I talk about playing connected, it's on both sides of the puck. Generating offence, we've scored goals, but to me, we haven't done the"

The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost five straight games and carry an 8-9-2 record, tied with the Buffalo Sabres for last in the division and six points out of first. The team has allowed 72 goals while scoring 67, producing a minus-5 goal differential. General manager Brad Treliving took full responsibility for roster and staffing decisions and said he is working with coach Craig Berube and the coaching staff to improve performance. Treliving identified defensive lapses and inconsistent goaltending as primary issues and called for a more connected game on both sides of the puck.

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