The Toronto Maple Leafs are staring down their first missed postseason in a decade, and it is becoming clear that the tenure of Brad Treliving and Craig Berube hasn't worked. Treliving's hiring was meant to add grit and determination to the team, while Berube was supposed to steer the ship with a hard-nosed style.

Instead of a tougher team, we have watched a clunky roster fall completely out of the playoff race. Now, with a retool looming, there are major questions about who will be brought in to right the ship, as Treliving and Berube don't seem to be the answer.

The biggest reason to question Treliving’s ability to handle a retool is how he has managed his assets. The Scott Laughton situation is a perfect example. A year ago, the Maple Leafs paid a massive price to get him, including a first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin. Fast forward to this season’s deadline, and Treliving traded Laughton to the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional third-round pick. That is about as clear of a buy-high, sell-low situation as you will find.

To make matters worse, Grebenkin has become a steady bottom-six forward with the Philadelphia Flyers. Treliving essentially gutted part of the prospect pool. This includes trading Fraser Minten for veteran players who didn’t move the needle. Because of these moves, the Maple Leafs now have an even thinner cupboard and fewer draft picks to work with this summer than they did when he arrived. Which makes it tough to retool a team when you have already moved out some of your best future pieces.

While Treliving built the roster, Berube is the one who has struggled to make it work on the ice. He is trying to force a dump-and-chase style on a team that is built to carry the puck. It has felt off all season. Under the previous head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Maple Leafs were one of the better five-on-five teams in the league, but they have taken a major step back under Berube.

Even before Auston Matthews went down with his season-ending knee injury, he looked frustrated and less effective in this system. Berube has proven to be a winning coach. He won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues back in 2019. Unfortunately, his system doesn’t seem to fit with the Maple Leafs’ top stars. This is what happened with Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas and the Blues before he was let go. It’s not that he isn’t a great coach, but his style of coaching and system isn’t the right one with the current roster construction. They need a coach who will push offensive skill over defensive, similar to Bruce Cassidy, who was let go by the Vegas Golden Knights.