Treliving touches on Auston Matthews, Marner at GM meetings

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Winning the Atlantic Division would be great, but it’s not the centre of attention for Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.

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Nor should it be for his players.

That was Treliving’s line of thinking in an interview on Tuesday with Gino Reda of TSN at the National Hockey League GMs meetings in Florida.

“We want to finish as high as we can,” Treliving said. “Starting to get into trying to pick opponents, every team is going to be a difficult matchup. We just have to get ourselves there first. That is our focus.

“I don’t care where you finish, you are playing a really good team (in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs). Getting your game in order and making sure you are playing the very best you can when it matters the most, that’s the most important thing for us.”

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The Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning have 83 points, two behind the division-leading Florida Panthers. Toronto and Tampa have 15 games remaining in the regular season while Florida has 14.

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Treliving discussed the play of two of the Leafs’ top players — captain Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner.

“He set the standard for our group to follow,” Treliving said of Matthews’ performance in the 6-2 Leafs win against Calgary on Monday. “It was a matter of time (for Matthews to score two goals). Auston’s overall game has been really good. He has led us defensively and that was what stood out more last night than the goals.”

Anything on the Marner front regarding contact talks?

“We’re going to focus on the ice and any updates we have business-wise, we will be sure to share them,” Treliving said. “Mitch, as we all know, has had a terrific year. He is a vital part of our team. He is a big part of what we’re going to try to accomplish in these next (15) games and moving beyond that. That’s where our focus is.”

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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