TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston joins Leafs Lunch to share his thoughts on Kyle Dubas’ tenure in Toronto, explain why he thinks it’s likely that head coach Sheldon Keefe won’t return, discuss if this could affect Auston Matthews re-signing with the Leafs, and more.
@Toronto Maple Leafs
27 Comments
Dubas blew pretty much all the draft picks to go all in this year, also there's so many players leaving as UFAs as well as Matthews and Nylander both need extensions. The next GM is in for a really bumpy ride…
I'm favoured, $230K every 4weeks! I can now afford anything and also support God's work and the church.
Kadri and andersson instead of Tavares sounds so good
The hardest thing in this league is NOT "to find a guy who can put the puck in the net"…the hardest thing is to find a guy who can put the puck in the net WHEN IT COUNTS MOST!
I never wanted Dubas as the Manager , I wanted a more experienced Manager in Mark Hunter, but let's not take anything away from Florida they were the President Cup winner a few seasons back ex-Leaf coach Paul Maurice has the players dialed in, and the trade for Matthew Tkachuk was brilliant a good blueprint if the Leafs decided to trade Marner or Nylander, the Leafs need young players like Tkachuk warriors tough you don't want play against , now Florida is up 2 to 0 headed back to Florida well if they win in Game 3 it's pretty much over, if your Vegas or Dallas Florida would not be a team to look forward to in the finals,
Why do many analysts think Dubas would succeed as GM elsewhere. In Toronto, he had a carte blanche in management resources available to him and he had an overload of assistants yet he failed in the playoffs.
It was reported by Steve Simmons that Shanny and ownership offered Dubas another 5-year term with a raise to market value $4 M per year. Others had reported Dubas wanted $6 M per year!
The franchise needs a fresh set of eyes from the outside
I am thankful that Dubas is gone as Leaf GM although he should never have been appointed GM in the first place. Whether Keefe is let go is TBD although there was a time when Nick Nurse had been Raptors’ head coach, only for the latter to be fired the week after the MLSE-owned NBA team had lost an April play-in game to the Chicago Bulls.
Dubas put in a risky strategy which failed and put the organization behind the eight ball. The leafs are a business first
Keefe has to go he is part of the failure.
The leafs have many changes to fix the mess Dubas created
highest paid gm dubas and still not happy who was given everything and won only 1round
One of Dubas' biggest mistake was that he was too loyal to Keefe, when the wheels fall off 3 years in a row, you have to do what is sometimes the only move you can and that's getting rid of the guy behind the bench.
you need more bite the top 4 have talent but when they get puched in the face they smile
bring in tom Wilson to protect these scared pussy cats
Maple Laughs
= The🚢Titanic
As soon as they hit the ice🧊they sink!
😂🤣
The Leafs weakest link this year and last year were the coach. How many times did we say Keefe was out coached?
The team was good enough to go deep yet you have a coach who looked like he was still trying to figure his best lines/lineup.
Kyle's mistake was not understanding or not willing to admit that the root of the problem was a lack of a tenured coach in charge who could handle the young players and work on their mental game.
Jon Cooper, Bruce Cassidy, Peter deBoer…these types of coaches would have been best suited dealing with this team.
I want to be optimistic to clean this mess I say another 5 years man he put the leafs in a big hole nothing but failure
CJ, biggest boot licker of Dubas. His era was a complete failure. It’s about winning and he handcuffed the team on those 4 ridiculous contracts. Great job. 🤦🏻
…he'll go elsewhere and we'll watch him take home multiple Stanley Cup rings…Shanahan held the line for 9 years but here we go again with the circus
For people who don't know, Chris Johnston is a mouthpiece for Kyle Dubas, so take what he says with a grain of salt.
When you consider what Dubas has left behind for the next GM it is not all doom and gloom. With almost half a team on expiring contracts, a new GM with a new perspective will be able to build a team in his own vision.
The only thing a new GM is ultimately stuck with is 3 of the core 4 with NMC's come July 1st. There are not too many potential GM's who would complain too much about inheriting 2 superstars and an overpaid, aging veteran who is still producing. Then of course there is Nylander who can be traded but might ultimately be a part of the new GM's vision for the future.
With a little cap house cleaning, a few astute trades and a bit of creativity, building a really good team from what Dubas left behind is easily possible.
Kyle got LUCKY. Having ZERO experience Shanny took a risk on him 9 years ago and he let Kyle learn and make all his new mistakes with the leafs. Dumb move by shanny tbh. I know when I start a new career or hobby or anything, the first couple years is all mistakes and errors, and breaking things. And he did break the leafs his first 5 years at least. then he started learning and was a basic decent gm.
Dubas got taken to the cleaners in negotiation. Tavares 11 million?! Marner 60 million? Come on.
Keefe has to go as well
The sad thing is that Shanahan would even offer Dubas an extension in the first place. He architected a team that would win it all in Europe, not North America. It took four years for him to add toughness to compete in the playoffs. It was too little too late and I'm sure he begrudgingly made those changes, it's not the way he sees the game. He was a weak GM, and offering him an extension puts Shanahan as the Leafs' president into question.