The New York Islanders hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 11 in a memorable game for a lot of reasons. John Tavares earned his 1000th-career point and the Islanders came away with a 4-3 overtime victory with Mathew Barzal finding Bo Horvat on the rush. The game itself spoke volumes to how both teams are playing great hockey.
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The Islanders and Maple Leafs both have great offenses, led by star power in the top six. Both teams also have depth in all three units and despite defensive woes, they both look to remain near the top of the Eastern Conference throughout the season.
The two general managers (GMs) — Lou Lamoriello for the Islanders and and Brad Treliving for the Maple Leafs — have opposite styles and think differently when it comes to team building, yet both have teams ready to make a run at the Cup and they will both address similar needs in the coming months to rough out their rosters.
Lamoriello’s Unwillingness To Change
Lamoriello’s unwillingness to change is a tendency that has stood out in recent offseasons with the GM not only avoiding the splash signing but doubling down on the roster in place. The Islanders have an aging, slower, and veteran-heavy group, making it easy to say that they need a star in the lineup or a youthful presence added. In the 2022 offseason, Lamoriello didn’t sign anyone despite Johnny Gaudreau and Nazem Kadri, two elite scorers, being on the market.
This past offseason, his big moves were re-signing Scott Mayfield, Pierre Engvall, Oliver Wahlstrom, Semyon Varlamov, and Hudson Fasching as well as extending Ilya Sorokin. While he expressed interest in acquiring star forward Alex DeBrincat, he wasn’t going to mortgage enough to add the elite player and instead, the Detroit Red Wings acquired him. A theme with Lamoriello is that he will not make a move if it’ll cost a price that will will set the Islanders back.
Lamoriello has made a few tweaks to the roster, notably adding Julien Gauthier this offseason and acquiring both Mike Reilly and Robert Bortuzzo in the middle of this season to strengthen the defense. Likewise, swinging the occasional big trade is something Lamoriello does to give the Islanders a jolt when needed, specifically, the acquisitions of Bo Horvat during the 2023 All-Star Break and Engvall ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline. However, he’s one of the more reserved and quiet GMs in the league and along with being secretive, he tends to avoid the big move, keeping the Islanders a low-risk, low-reward team.
This philosophy made him a successful GM, especially with the New Jersey Devils who were steady competitors in the 1990s and the 2000s and won three Stanley Cups. At the same time, it’s what makes him a frustrating GM as the team looks similar and frankly, average year in and year out. The Islanders last season had a high floor but a low ceiling and after doing nothing from one season to the next, the expectations haven’t changed.
Treliving’s Aggressive Style as a GM
It’s hard to ignore the Calgary Flames’ 2022 offseason when thinking of how Treliving will operate as the Maple Leafs GM. The Flames lost Gaudreau to free agency and Matthew Tkachuk — who requested a trade and was eventually moved to the Florida Panthers — in the same offseason. A lot of GMs would take that as a sign to start a rebuild or retool after losing two of the team’s best players. Instead, Treliving pushed all his chips in and went after elite veteran skaters in an attempt to keep the Flames competitive.
The Flames added Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weeger, two skaters in the prime of their careers, in the Tkachuk trade. On top of that, Treliving signed Kadri late in the summer to add a top-six center to the veteran-heavy win-now roster. The moves backfired with the Flames missing the playoffs in 2022-23 and ultimately firing Treliving, but his aggressiveness stood out and his willingness to make moves intrigued the Maple Leafs, who subsequently hired him.
In his short time with the Maple Leafs, Treliving has already shown a willingness to move players around and change up the roster. This offseason, he signed Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, and John Klingberg while allowing other notable depth skaters to leave in free agency. The Maple Leafs have been an aggressive team at the Trade Deadline for a few seasons, hoping to assemble a Cup-ready roster with an elite core in place, and Treliving will take that style one step further.
The Maple Leafs are in a significantly better state than the Flames were when Treliving was the GM and there won’t be any moves made out of desperation as a result. That said, he won’t leave any stone unturned to help the Maple Leafs compete for the Cup and snap the longest title drought in NHL history. If a deal can be made, he’ll pull out all the stops to make it happen.
How Both GMs Will Fix The Defense
If the recent matchup was any indication, the Islanders and Maple Leafs both must fix their defensive units if they hope to make a run at the Cup. The Dec. 11 game saw the two teams combine for seven goals and 69 shots on the net with both offenses creating a plethora of scoring chances but the defenses struggling. Both teams are looking to add a depth skater who brings a two-way presence but also physicality to round out their blue lines.
The Islanders will likely address this need the way Lamoriello usually has — that is, by doing nothing. Instead, the move to fix the defense has already been made with the additions of Reilly and Bortuzzo. With the two skaters already taking significant roles on the defense, the hope is that the unit returns to full strength with Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Sebastian Aho returning to the lineup. A minor addition could be in the works but the expectation by the end of the season is that the team will have the same six defensemen on opening night starting for them in the playoffs.
Treliving, on the other hand, will look to add a defenseman, especially with Klingberg on the long-term injured list. Ethan Bear is a reliable third-pair option who is available to sign. The Seattle Kraken’s Adam Larsson won’t be a free agent until after the 2024-25 season and is a shot-blocking, hard-hitting defenseman the Maple Leafs need, making him an intriguing target if the Kraken continue to struggle. Lastly, Treliving can make a deal with his former team with the Flames staring at an inevitable rebuild, targeting Chris Tanev and Noah Hanifin.
Do you think either GM will make a move to fix the defense? Let us know in the comments below.