Maple Leafs GM Says Team's DNA 'Needs to Change' Ahead of 2025 NHL Free Agency

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving hinted Thursday that big changes could be coming to the organization during the offseason.

Speaking to reporters, Treliving said there is "some DNA that needs to change" with regard to the Leafs' roster:

Those changes could come during free agency, as Toronto's first- and fourth-leading point scorers from this season in Mitch Marner and John Tavares are both set to hit the open market:

Veteran forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz will also be UFAs, while forward Matthew Knies will be in line for a huge raise as a restricted free agent after setting career highs with 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points this season.

Toronto has been among the NHL's most consistent regular-season teams for the past decade, having made nine consecutive playoff appearances.

The Leafs have finished with at least 100 points in each of the past four seasons and six of the past eight, and they are coming off a 2024-25 campaign that saw them win the Atlantic Division with 108 points.

However, playoff success continues to elude the Maple Leafs, as they have won only two playoff series over the past nine seasons.

Following six straight first-round exits, the Leafs finally won a series in 2023, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. The celebration was short-lived, though, as the Florida Panthers beat them in the second round despite making the playoffs by only one point.

The Boston Bruins knocked the Leafs out of the first round in seven games last season, leading Toronto to move on from head coach Sheldon Keefe and replace him with Craig Berube.

While the change worked to some degree in the form of the Leafs beating the Ottawa Senators in six games in the first round of the playoffs, they fell to the Panthers in the second round for the second time in three seasons.

The Leafs have been an offensive juggernaut for several seasons with Auston Matthews, Marner, Tavares and William Nylander leading the way, but defense and goaltending have been a problem at times.

Anthony Stolarz may be the answer to Toronto's goaltending woes as evidenced by his league-leading .926 save percentage in 34 games this season, but the defense corps is still lacking.

Morgan Rielly took a step back this season with 41 points compared to last season's 58, and Toronto's next highest-scoring defenseman was Oliver Ekman-Larsson with only 29 points.

The Maple Leafs lack the type of dominant, shutdown blueliners that most top teams possess, and if they lose Marner, Tavares or both in free agency, they would perhaps be best served spending the money saved on a stud defenseman or two.

Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad fits the mold of exactly what the Leafs need, so it would make sense for Treliving to make him his No. 1 target on the UFA market.

Ivan Provorov, Vladislav Gavrikov and Dmitry Orlov are other impending free-agent defensemen who could be of interest to the Leafs, as they would represent massive and much-needed upgrades.