Marner, Tavares happy with 'grittiness' of Maple Leafs' additions

TORONTO --Mitchell Marner is fully on board with the direction the Toronto Maple Leafs are going under new general manager Brad Treliving.

Speaking Thursday at his Fifth Annual Marner All-Star Invitational, the forward said the additions of gritty forwards Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi and Ryan Reaves are exactly what Toronto needs.

"All three of those guys can play with snot … so I think he's done a good job; with what he has said he wants to bring in, he's done it," Marner said. "They bring a lot of intensity to our whole roster, three guys who aren't afraid to get in peoples' faces and down and dirty.

"At the same time, they bring a lot of pace and can do a lot of things around the net, add a lot of different qualities to our team and they all have that grittiness. What Ryan does is going to make people not want to get down and dirty too much with our team."

Those words echoed what Treliving said July 3 after the Maple Leafs signed Domi to a one-year, $3 million contract, following the signing of Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million contract ($1.35 million annual average value) on July 1 and Bertuzzi to a one-year, $5.5 million contract July 2.

"We need a little bit more snot to our game," Treliving said. "As much as the game's changed, some things have never changed. At the most important times, the rink shrinks. There's no space. You need courage. And we wanted to add players like that."

Since the Maple Leafs' last game, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round on May 12, the front office and roster have undergone significant change.

Kyle Dubas, who had been GM since May 11, 2018, was told on May 19 he would not return. Treliving, who was fired as GM of the Calgary Flames on April 17, was hired as the Maple Leafs GM on May 31.

Of the players in the lineup that game, forwards Ryan O'Reilly, Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot and Noel Acciari and defensemen Luke Schenn and Justin Holl each has signed elsewhere as an unrestricted free agent.

Though Toronto did win its first playoff series since 2004, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Eastern Conference First Round, a Maple Leafs season once again ended in disappointment against the Panthers. Captain John Tavares said he feels the additions of Bertuzzi, Domi and Reaves as well as defenseman John Klingberg (one year, $4.15 million) will leave the team in a strong position to contend again this season.

"We have a very, very good hockey team that has done a lot of very good things," Tavares said. "We haven't got to the ultimate goal but every year there has been strides taken, some years more than others and there's definitely been some bumps in the road, but no doubt we have a very strong team that we believe is right there. Brad wants to help complement that and bring some of the things he believes can help, so we're excited about that."

Treliving also made a point of trying to shift the attention of all the responsibility for the team's shortcomings falling on the "Core Four" of Tavares, Marner, center Auston Matthews and forward William Nylander, instead saying he wanted the focus from the fans to be on the team as a whole. It was a comment that was appreciated and did not go unnoticed by the returning players.

"Something we've talked about a lot is how Brad came in and defended us all, really, and our team," Marner said. "It meant a lot to all of us to [have him] come in and do that. It's not just four guys on our team, it's a full team effort every night and that's really what we've really known (within the team)."

Now that coach Sheldon Keefe has been confirmed to return this season, the next significant item on Treliving's agenda, apart from goalie Ilya Samsonov's arbitration hearing July 21, is the long-term futures of Matthews and Nylander.

Each has one season remaining on his contract and has been eligible to sign a new contract since July 1.

"Both of them have a lot of joy and love for this team and want to be here, so we will see," Marner said. "If need be I'm going to get involved and try to help out both sides, but at the same time they are my buddies before teammates and I'm going to look at them as that."

Tavares said he also remains confident Matthews and Nylander will each come to an agreement with the Maple Leafs.

"We all have a good grasp of why it's special to play here and we all want to be here and win here," Tavares said, "but there is a business side of it too and sometimes that process has to play out a little bit and it takes time. It's not always things getting done in a simple, quick, one-day type of negotiation.

"It's a process and I even learned that, whether it was my extension on Long Island (with the New York Islanders in 2011) or when I went through free agency. It's not always the smoothest process, but at the same time I know the guys want to be here and love it here and want to continue on with the group that we have."