Dubas will not return as Leafs GM

[Belexus75]

Toronto and NYR lost for the same reason imo. They built teams to sell tickets. Obviously selling tickets does not equal winning but hey, they sold tickets while it lasted.

i cant speak to NY although i think it would be similar but in Toronto, it does not matter who plays or how they play ...tickets get sold. You can even argue that crappier the team, better the atmosphere at the rink cause more tickets are available to regular public vs corporate environment. So i disagree they built team to sell tickets...i dont think this assessment is even close when it comes to Toronto..

[hockeyrobot]

https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status...990906369?s=20

Pit expected to ask permission to speak to Kyle

There you have it. So much for them being "too far into the process".

[Daydream Nation]

Yes, Dubas overplayed his hand IF he wanted to 100% return. He might have simply felt that the only way he'd return was IF he got the exact contract he wanted (pay and control). If I were a Leaf fan, I would not be happy with what has transpired. Matthews probably will not resign by July 1 which gives him all the power and lowers his trade value (NMC kicks in). So if the new GM trades Nylander or Marner by July 1st, then you have to hope Matthews is content enough to resign. All of that is riskier with a new GM compared to Dubas. We can all point out the mistakes Dubas made but ALL GMs make mistakes and Dubas is young enough and smart enough to learn from his. We have already seen his progression in building the Leafs this year. He had a great trade deadline. And let's not forget the biggest reason why this team underachieved is the core 4's playoff performances. Great regular season players that can't turn it up a notch in the playoffs. The Leafs are in a worse position after Shanny and his ego decided to not meet Dubas's demands.

[blayze]

I don't understand why Dubas has such a strong following in and outside of Toronto.

He had an "ok" run... not a great one by any means. He paid the asking price to sign every star that he could. Not arguing about AM34, Nylander or Marner, but clearly JT was a fail. He made some decent trades and some bad ones.

I think Dubas is way overrated - because he's young, good looking and articulate. In a market saturated with old-ass recycled GMs on their 7th lives, someone like Dubas stands out. But that doesn't make him a good GM.

[hockeyrobot]

Why is the Leafs draft futility never discussed. Outside of round 1 they have almost no substantial picks. And this is over a 20 year period.

[Daydream Nation]

I don't understand why Dubas has such a strong following in and outside of Toronto.

He had an "ok" run... not a great one by any means. He paid the asking price to sign every star that he could. Not arguing about AM34, Nylander or Marner, but clearly JT was a fail. He made some decent trades and some bad ones.

I think Dubas is way overrated - because he's young, good looking and articulate. In a market saturated with old-ass recycled GMs on their 7th lives, someone like Dubas stands out. But that doesn't make him a good GM.

What are the glaring mistakes he's made? Murray, Mrazek, Ritchie, Foligno but then you have Samsonov, Bunting, Kampf, and by most accounts the very good trade deadline he had this year. He made Mrazek and Richie go away cheaply and likely would have with Murray as well. I think overall Dubas has done a very good job filling in the roster around the core players. And as someone who follows teams around the league pretty closely, I see many GMs make head-scratching trades and sign players to bad contracts. All of Dubas's mistakes have been relatively minor and he multiple good to very good moves on his ledger.

[Axeman33]

What are the glaring mistakes he's made? Murray, Mrazek, Ritchie, Foligno but then you have Samsonov, Bunting, Kampf, and by most accounts the very good trade deadline he had this year. He made Mrazek and Richie go away cheaply and likely would have with Murray as well. I think overall Dubas has done a very good job filling in the roster around the core players. And as someone who follows teams around the league pretty closely, I see many GMs make head-scratching trades and sign players to bad contracts. All of Dubas's mistakes have been relatively minor and he multiple good to very good moves on his ledger.

For me, Tavares is still a glaring mistake that he's choking on (literally and figuratively).

He's still failed to produce a playoff winning team, primarily because his D isn't good enough and his expensive contracts have failed at the main times he needs them to produce (playoffs).

[tweetdrivr]

Trading for McCann and exposing him in the expansion draft in order to keep Holl.

[Daydream Nation]

For me, Tavares is still a glaring mistake that he's choking on (literally and figuratively).

He's still failed to produce a playoff winning team, primarily because his D isn't good enough and his expensive contracts have failed at the main times he needs them to produce (playoffs).

A point per game player (0.98) signed in free agency for less than what other teams offered (reported) is a glaring mistake? And I put the core's failure on those players not the GM. The organization gave them everything but they didn't produce.

[tweetdrivr]

The Tavares signing was an unmitigated disaster from the moment it was done. He was a player they didn’t even remotely need. He’s been mostly ineffective in the playoffs and the Leafs could have added 2 or 3 more effective players with his money. They could have kept Kadri. They would not have had to go bargain basement shopping for a Samasonov (which turned out great but could have just as easily gone the other way - this was pure luck). The Tavares signing has hobbled this organization - one of the worst things they could have done.

[TrailerParkFlyers]

A point per game player (0.98) signed in free agency for less than what other teams offered (reported) is a glaring mistake? And I put the core's failure on those players not the GM. The organization gave them everything but they didn't produce.

The GM selects the players. If the players don't win, it is the GM's fault no matter how sound the logic to acquire the players may have been at the time they were acquired.

[blayze]

What are the glaring mistakes he's made?

Instead of JT he could have used all that cap space to surround AM/Marner/Nylander with pieces that addressed the team's gaps.

Then he traded Kadri for Barrie/Kerfoot which was obviously a bust.

I never said the word glaring - that was your word. I said he made decent trades and bad ones. He gets a B from me. My whole point is that he's way overrated in Leafs Nation.

[stevegamer]

Instead of JT he could have used all that cap space to surround AM/Marner/Nylander with pieces that addressed the team's gaps.

Then he traded Kadri for Barrie/Kerfoot which was obviously a bust.

I never said the word glaring - that was your word. I said he made decent trades and bad ones. He gets a B from me. My whole point is that he's way overrated in Leafs Nation.

Actually glaring was Axeman's word and if that's a glaring mistake - meaning a blatantly obviously bad bad move - I want tomorrow's winning lottery numbers from Mega Millions from somebody.

[Daydream Nation]

The Tavares signing was an unmitigated disaster from the moment it was done. He was a player they didn’t even remotely need. He’s been mostly ineffective in the playoffs and the Leafs could have added 2 or 3 more effective players with his money. They could have kept Kadri. They would not have had to go bargain basement shopping for a Samasonov (which turned out great but could have just as easily gone the other way - this was pure luck). The Tavares signing has hobbled this organization - one of the worst things they could have done.

This is a massive exaggeration. Kadri could not be trusted to keep his emotions in check during the playoffs and played a major role in their loss against Boston in 2018. Even after getting traded to Colorado, he was suspended in the playoffs in his first season after his hit on Faulk. It's very easy to sit back now and say what should have been done because we know how everything played out. But the reality is that Toronto signed a low-end #1C, elite #2C in free agency without giving up any assets for a fair contract. Obviously, the signing hasn't worked out like Toronto would have wanted but Tavares has been productive and far from an unmitigated disaster. A little puck luck and some better performances from key players in the playoffs and the entire narrative is different.

[2014olympicgold]

The plan was the cap was going to go up and be close to $90-$95m by now when the deal was signed. It was a bold risk at saying by yr5, and his ability to find talent, he'd be able to fill the holes.

Every GM makes mistakes. Dubas best attribute was making mistake contracts go away for way less than what people expect. Every bad signing people listed, he was able to make them go away by for way cheaper than people predicted.

Now coming back from my posts on Friday...wow. Hear I am praising Toronto is run very well. And Shanahan has his presser that airs out dirty laundry and heavily implies it was based off of being insulted. And for an organization that still holds information tight to the chest from the Lou era, this was a LOT of information from Dubas and Shanahan.

I'm fine with what Shanahan doing what he's doing when you're adults and if it's true.