JD Bunkis and Sam McKee are back for an emergency podcast with the news today that the Maple Leafs will not be bringing Kyle Dubas back as general manager. They react to the events leading up to the decision, Dubas’ negotiation, Brandon Shanahan’s press conference and what comes next for the Leafs.
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42 Comments
They gotta just steal Yzerman somehow
Silence is golden.a message for Dubas.
Glad to see some honesty instead of being proud of losing and not changing anything. Time for change.
No more woke hockey in Toronto
Dubas gone is a loss for Leaf Trolls.
Seeing this pop up made me happy and sad
Bring in “Pinball” Clemens to be the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs next!!!
19:00. by this logic why would Mathews deserve a raise also. if franchise records don't mean anything.
Bam Son
Dang
Any suggestions who will be or next GM?
Babcock is still being paid lmfao
Thanks for this show!
Oh crap I'm going to run out of popcorn 🍿 🙃…
Mike Futa would be a good gm for Toronto. David Poile would be good also as new gm.
Sam you are really great.
Disappointed to see JD and Sam are such bootlickers
Can we all agree that no matter what happens over the off-season, can we kill Hall and Oats
Yes JD Bunkis … time for a new culture and that's why my new pick for GM is Gary Roberts; he'll know what players to bring in to change the culture of the team and turn this into a real championship contender
Bye bye Duffus !
Leafs are not favourite hockey team in the Country lol, second likely.
Did anyone catch Shanny reference Keefe as Dubas's head coach
Idk guys. It’s clear this was calculated and the only approach for the organization. This shouldn’t be a surprise.
Does anyone believe Kyle hadn't discussed it with his wife long before this week?
I don't blame Duby in the least if he wanted more power and money. Toronto is the biggest hockey hellhole in the world. If you want him and his family to put up with all that excrement, ya gotta pay up, brah. If the richest franchise in the league can't afford it, then see ya. There are far better places to work with in hockey circles, and almost all of them are in the US. No Canadian team has won a Stanley Cup in 30 years. Why in the hell would anyone with talent and a brain want to spend his prime north of the border?
Mark Hunter should get the job.
Great pod today boys !
Next up among MLSE-owned sports teams: to send packing Leafs’ President Shanahan, Raptors’ President Ujiri and Raps’ GM Webster packing. Having next to no production from the basketball team’s bench, ultimately hurt said team in an April play-in game against the Chicago Bulls.
Mac was right on Kyper & Bourne the moment Dubas said he wasnt sure he wanted to come back Shanahan has to look elsewhere.
I really have to stop listening to right-wing man-babies talk about things, sports included. Way to suck up to the boss, kids! That's some real manly stuff!
Dyle Kubas
Thank you JD!!! Around that 23 min mark. Simple as that. It's business. And all the items you listed….peace Dubas
Jason Spezza reigned too. How crazy is that.
Shanahan saves his own ass by dumping Dubas. Accountability must 'begin at the top.
I wonder how many water bottles he's chucking tonight?
You do know that both Brian Burke and Ron Hextall are available.
I need to talk to you. First off, I think the truth was that Dubis was not going to be accepted back. He was probably told in game 3 of the second round, loose and you're out but will run the following year not with any team so not to sabotage any following contract negotiations. Auston needs to go. I don't understand the support for him if the information I have is correct. Auston is a center with under 54% faceoff win percentage. While Tavares is higher with 58%. Since Tavares has a no trade contract, we keep Tavares, keep Marner. Why Marner over Matthews? Marner was the best Leaf player with 3 seasons 90 plus points, highest consecutive points earner on the leafs, 99 poonts in this last regular season. I value assists. It shows Marner is a play maker. I would also like to keep Nylander who was top 3 point earner on the Leafs. Although both Marner and Nylander are right wingers, I would try Tavares, Marner, Nylander on the same line. Try to trade Auston even as a loan to Chicago for their draft pick which is suspected to be a 3 year contract. If the Leafs can have all 4 contracts endcat the same time (next three years), do or done opportunity. Win the Cup in the next 3 years or they are all done with the Leafs. I would be fine to promote Woll as full time goalie. If we can't get Chicago's draft choice, if we release Auston, will it open our salary cap to keep Bunting and others currently here that are soon UFA? If so, even better. I'm ok with keeping the team as it is minus Matthews. What did Matthews do? 60 goals 2 seasons ago? That is a personal stat. The team only needs to win with 1 goal and if they can be the best defensively to leave as a tie, that earns them one point that adds up at the end of the regular season. 1 goal lead only important during the playoffs. I think they need better plays. Dumping the puck into opponents zone is never a good plan. Keeping control of the puck is always the better plan. How to take advantage of the right opportunities is what they need to learn. Why did Dubas sit on the contract offered? Because Dubas actually thought or hoped that the Leafs were going to perform well during the playoffs that it was going to boost his staus. Leafs lost miserably and crushed his value to the point that its better to let him go.
Now Dubas is gone, no matters whether he wanted to take it elsewhere or he really wanted to come back. As a boss, you only want result. MLSE made quick decisions, and knowing that time is ticking. Especially with the timelines of the off season and the numerious issues surrounding this Leafs team, they have to act responsibly and accordingly
Dubas is gone. Seems to have overplayed his hand. Shanahan was a warrior class player. After losing a playoff round and publicly whining about how tough the job is and deferring to your wife as the decision maker, that would have had to be the end for Dubas in Shanahan's eyes. Not reading the room and having your agent inflate an ask that already accommodated months of negotiated 'must haves' is, in any business, interpreted as bad faith.
Sports is big business but at the end of the day it is just hockey. Anything other than Dubas stating "Tough to stomach the loss but instead, I focus on the awesome organization we have built, which anybody lucky enough to be a part of, knows is 1st class. We have a strong core of character guys who like me, want to win. We make moves to add depth and talent and I believe each year we have gotten better. We will continue to do so and if the leadership of MLSE continues to have faith in me, I am committed to doing anything I can to bring home a Cup to Toronto".
#1 priority IMHO is goaltending. The young guy Woll looked good when called upon and might have the secret sauce but Samsonov was often caught out of position and gave up too many weak goals. Move Samsonov.
Defense was outmatched with both Florida opponents and the Leafs need their Coffey, Leetch, Lidstrom anchors to transition up ice without turnovers. Emphasis on a combination of speed and nastiness.
In terms of trade bait up front I think you need to shake things up.
Not necessarily wholesale changes but certainly a blockbuster with at least one of Tavares, Marner or Mathews needing to go. A Losing attitude is a virus that needs to be cut out.
Edmonton went all in this year and are also out in the 2nd round to Vegas, so perhaps there is a blockbuster McDavid and or Draissaitl for Mathews and or Marner. An explosive move that could shake up both rosters.
Another move is Mathews and Samsonov for the #1 pick with Chicago. Do something bold to grab a potential generational talent and clear cap space.
Is a coaching change warranted? Perhaps. Keep in mind NHL coaches earn their chops through experience and just blowing the coach out does not change a losing culture.
A change could be positive and candidly now more likely but only if a world class guy is ready to step in.
Joel Quenneville comes to mind. He took a bullet for what happened in Chicago but is a proven winner.
Now it gets interesting because Stan Bowman, who won 3 Cups in Chicago (with Quenneville a former Leaf) could come in as a package deal. Shanahan with his relationships with the NHL HO could smooth things over for re-reinstatement for both.
Thoughts?
I was a fan of Dubas but also think picking up JT handcuffed our team in terms of cap space and made Matthews and Marner look at a player they out produce and a 11 mil contract of course they’ll want higher or around the same. And already having Kadri that move was a mess. I really wish we could have another go around at this but without JT. Do we still have Hymen and/or Freddy? Could we keep O’Reilly or Acciari this season. Could we have convinced the others to take less. Sad to think about
Sam I agree there has to be accountability but we know now that they aren’t letting him go because of his or the teams poor playoff performances but because of a poor contract negotiation. Which I am mad he did that as well but when has anyone other than Kadri been punished for their recent playoff embarrassment.
Like Sam says “people in the organization are terrified of accountability”. There in lies the problem!