Around the League - 2022-23 Season Edition

[LaPlante94]

Am I going to see articles about how Pietrangelo was smiling and didn't fight back when he got that cheapshot punch from Bennet?

Who this guy?

 

[Gabriel426]

Fun start. Eichel is flying out there. Overdue for a goal

Who would had thought, Eichel will be the first one among AM and McD to be the in the finals and potentially be the first one to win the Cup.

 

[Buds17]

Who would had thought, Eichel will be the first one among AM and McD to be the in the finals and potentially be the first one to win the Cup.

In fairness, Eichel is the only one of the three to have been traded thus far...traded to a powerhouse team...that's playing in only the sixth season of its existence...I'd say that it all makes perfect sense!

 

[tokyoite]

two former leafs in the panthers team. paul maurice and carter verhaeghe.

 

[thewave]

Bennet and tkachuk and gudas pulling the same cheap shit they always do, except they actually got penalized for it this time. Go figure.

That's what happens in a Bet99man NHL. Canadian teams are just too stupid to call them on it and restructure the league and cap. Canadian fans are nothing but a money tree for the NHL.

 

[Dayjobdave]

I was really surprised that two “let them play” refs seemed to find their whistles Last night.

That being said, both of those teams play with way more urgency than the Leafs showed except for a few short bursts like the comeback game against Tampa.

 

[Warden of the North]

I think Babcock is an excellent hire for the Blue Jackets.

In hindsight -- and maybe not so much -- I think he got punted way too early here in Toronto.

Nah. Keefe has faults but he's better for this team.

 

[Warden of the North]

Anyways, let's get this series over with so the real offseason fireworks can begin.

 

[Peasy]

Bennet and tkachuk and gudas pulling the same cheap shit they always do, except they actually got penalized for it this time. Go figure.

Bettman prefers Vegas > Florida.

Get your new expansion team in and have a great shot at the cup in the first 10 years!

 

[BallardEra]

that sums up the Leafs. Bennett takes a shot at the tender and 4 knights swarm him. Leafs would have skated away and backed down. Hopefully Tree changes the core philosophy of this team and it's attack and defend your teamates

Need a new coach for that.

 

[IPS]

Am I going to see articles about how Pietrangelo was smiling and didn't fight back when he got that cheapshot punch from Bennet?

I don't know, does Vegas have some TMZ-style media that puts out any garbage for clicks?

If they don't - probably not.

 

[IPS]

Aren't point shots supposed to be obselete? Vegas sure takes a lot of them for being such an obsolete shot

 

[Havoc]

Aren't point shots supposed to be obselete? Vegas sure takes a lot of them for being such an obsolete shot

They are not obsolete. The correct term to use is extinct. And the poacher was 100D chess Dubas.

 

[Shooter2x]

Dubas the type of progressive GM who will invent the arcade air hockey clapper.

Aim for the boards and bank it in. None of this out dated direct shots on net from the point.

 

[Havoc]

Dubas the type of progressive GM who will invent the arcade air hockey clapper.

Aim for the boards and bank it in. None of this out dated direct shots on net from the point.

Dubas the type of progressive GM who will invent this shot and then trade for the only goalie in the universe and beyond it would work on.

Legend has it Mrazek has still not stopped sliding since his last lateral movement in the crease. Make sure to check both ways when traveling incase he's in your area.

 

[baton elevated]

Need a new coach for that.

I'm not Keefe lover but the coach takes his que from the GM as far as style of play. If Tree wants to play strong physical hockey compared to pond hockey he passes that message on to the coach to implement.
The Bruins have changed many coaches and GM's through the years but their one constant is heavy hockey. We used to have that mentality but not enough skill, now we have the skill and not enough actual hockey players. Striking the perfect balance is the Key. Quinn's teams had it but not quite enough skill. The '93 leafs had it all but the league determined they could not have 2 cdn teams in the Stankey cup finals. Game 6 was a sabotage.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

Aren't point shots supposed to be obselete? Vegas sure takes a lot of them for being such an obsolete shot

Um...Mr.Dubas would like to see you in his office in 10min....

 

[BallardEra]

I'm not Keefe lover but the coach takes his que from the GM as far as style of play. If Tree wants to play strong physical hockey compared to pond hockey he passes that message on to the coach to implement.
The Bruins have changed many coaches and GM's through the years but their one constant is heavy hockey. We used to have that mentality but not enough skill, now we have the skill and not enough actual hockey players. Striking the perfect balance is the Key. Quinn's teams had it but not quite enough skill. The '93 leafs had it all but the league determined they could not have 2 cdn teams in the Stankey cup finals. Game 6 was a sabotage.

True but I also believe that a team takes its que from the coach as well. Keefe's philosophy is to walk away and not fight back, retaliate, etc.

I'd prefer a coach that walks the talk instead of being told to be a certain way.

Keefe needs to go.

 

[stickty111]

They have a really good coach, too. Their breakouts and relentless forecheck are proof. It also seems like any mobile D can be successful under Cassidy

Keefe should have been let go last off season. We missed our chance with Cassidy. There aren't really any interesting coaches I like to replace Keefe now. Q is the only one but MLSE probably doesn't want that PR nightmare.
Honestly the only coaches I find interesting are inexperienced, but why not just keep Keefe then.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Mirtle: Get ready for a Maple Leafs-Penguins rivalry — on and off the ice

With Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh and ready for battle in the Eastern Conference with his old team, a heated new rivalry has just been born.

theathletic.com

How Dubas’ exit was foreshadowed in 2017

We’ll never know for sure, but more and more people you talk to around the league believe Dubas had at least some inkling the Penguins seriously wanted him when he went into those failed, odd negotiations with Shanahan last month.

Which puts what happened in a different light.

The thing, too, is that the notion of Dubas feeling chafed and wanting more autonomy in Toronto is not a new one. In fact, it was happening early on in his tenure with the team, soon after Lou Lamoriello was brought in as GM in July of 2015.

By the spring of 2017, the Colorado Avalanche, in the midst of a disastrous last-place season, were courting Dubas for a high-level front-office role. Then-GM Joe Sakic wanted to push the Avs in a more analytical direction, and he wanted permission to talk to Dubas.

That wasn’t granted. And my understanding at the time was that this was when Shanahan promised Dubas that he would succeed Lamoriello as GM the following year.

There were some now-familiar themes in that story: “The Leafs’ front office is full of division and disagreement, even as the team has excelled and exceeded expectations on the ice. There’s a circle of power and influence that’s being contested by a lot of big personalities — Lou Lamoriello, Mike Babcock, Mark Hunter etc. — and the results aren’t always pretty. One result of that is Dubas’ voice has been marginalized.”

One thing I recall being really interesting in reporting out that story was that people close to Dubas believed he would be happy to go to a place like Colorado, where he could do more of the “weird” things he wanted with a roster and front office than it felt would be possible in Toronto. That sort of unfettered ability to exact change, without the heavy scrutiny in a large market and a somewhat overbearing ownership situation, always appealed to Dubas, even six years ago.

Now, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a tiny hockey market. There is going to be prying eyes. But FSG is new to hockey, and they’re going to be turning over the keys in full here. In the president role, Dubas finally should have closer to the total control that he’s long wanted and that he wasn’t going to get by staying in Toronto.

While a lot of the takes after Shanahan fired him a couple weeks ago admonished Dubas for “overplaying his hand” in negotiations, the better, more accurate read of the situation, especially in hindsight, is that he was fully prepared to move on entering those talks.

After not being given a contract extension last summer, Dubas finally had the ability to contemplate life outside of Toronto and that emboldened him to take the stand he did with Shanahan.

Yes, a late request for more autonomy from the MLSE board didn’t go his way, but Dubas had been in the organization for nine years. He had to have known how that would be received by a board that refused to extend him after a 115-point season.

Dubas would have also known, like everyone in the hockey world, that Pittsburgh was about to have a major house cleaning and push in a more analytical direction, thanks to new ownership.

Dubas had to have known he would have other options when the dust settled. Options more in line with what he had been seeking since being blocked from going to Colorado in 2017.

So, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on what Dubas does with the Penguins as he builds out that front office and roster. Some of his hiring in Toronto was unorthodox, and some executives with other teams have been critical of the unique four-person AGM set up he put in place, but that may have been only the beginning.

 

[stickty111]

Mirtle: Get ready for a Maple Leafs-Penguins rivalry — on and off the ice

With Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh and ready for battle in the Eastern Conference with his old team, a heated new rivalry has just been born.

theathletic.com

How Dubas’ exit was foreshadowed in 2017

We’ll never know for sure, but more and more people you talk to around the league believe Dubas had at least some inkling the Penguins seriously wanted him when he went into those failed, odd negotiations with Shanahan last month.

Which puts what happened in a different light.

The thing, too, is that the notion of Dubas feeling chafed and wanting more autonomy in Toronto is not a new one. In fact, it was happening early on in his tenure with the team, soon after Lou Lamoriello was brought in as GM in July of 2015.

By the spring of 2017, the Colorado Avalanche, in the midst of a disastrous last-place season, were courting Dubas for a high-level front-office role. Then-GM Joe Sakic wanted to push the Avs in a more analytical direction, and he wanted permission to talk to Dubas.

That wasn’t granted. And my understanding at the time was that this was when Shanahan promised Dubas that he would succeed Lamoriello as GM the following year.

There were some now-familiar themes in that story: “The Leafs’ front office is full of division and disagreement, even as the team has excelled and exceeded expectations on the ice. There’s a circle of power and influence that’s being contested by a lot of big personalities — Lou Lamoriello, Mike Babcock, Mark Hunter etc. — and the results aren’t always pretty. One result of that is Dubas’ voice has been marginalized.”

One thing I recall being really interesting in reporting out that story was that people close to Dubas believed he would be happy to go to a place like Colorado, where he could do more of the “weird” things he wanted with a roster and front office than it felt would be possible in Toronto. That sort of unfettered ability to exact change, without the heavy scrutiny in a large market and a somewhat overbearing ownership situation, always appealed to Dubas, even six years ago.

Now, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a tiny hockey market. There is going to be prying eyes. But FSG is new to hockey, and they’re going to be turning over the keys in full here. In the president role, Dubas finally should have closer to the total control that he’s long wanted and that he wasn’t going to get by staying in Toronto.

While a lot of the takes after Shanahan fired him a couple weeks ago admonished Dubas for “overplaying his hand” in negotiations, the better, more accurate read of the situation, especially in hindsight, is that he was fully prepared to move on entering those talks.

After not being given a contract extension last summer, Dubas finally had the ability to contemplate life outside of Toronto and that emboldened him to take the stand he did with Shanahan.

Yes, a late request for more autonomy from the MLSE board didn’t go his way, but Dubas had been in the organization for nine years. He had to have known how that would be received by a board that refused to extend him after a 115-point season.

Dubas would have also known, like everyone in the hockey world, that Pittsburgh was about to have a major house cleaning and push in a more analytical direction, thanks to new ownership.

Dubas had to have known he would have other options when the dust settled. Options more in line with what he had been seeking since being blocked from going to Colorado in 2017.

So, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on what Dubas does with the Penguins as he builds out that front office and roster. Some of his hiring in Toronto was unorthodox, and some executives with other teams have been critical of the unique four-person AGM set up he put in place, but that may have been only the beginning.

Dubas deserves criticism for how he handled this, but this seems like a Shanny problem. How do you promise someone a GM role? Dubas got spoiled but it looks Shanny spoiled him.

 

[Legion34]

Siegel has been embarrassing here. His voice was cracking. They keep going on about how they are objective and not fans etc. but it’s bad.

Bottom line is dubas wanted out. There were rumours of treliving coming here in December. And dubas going to pitt since March.

It’s simple.
1.) shanny told dubas he wasn’t extended. I personally would be upset. But in dubas specific role he does that to people all the time

2.) they offered him an extension in March. He delayed

3.) they offered him an extension. He goes rogue. Does a press conference and says he doesn’t know what he wants to do.

In my mind it’s done then. But no one asked me to be the president of a billion dollar organization

4.) shanny Still decides to offer it. Dubas asks for more

It’s clearly done.

Dubas clearly wanted out. He refused to sign mid season. Said he didn’t know if he wanted it. Then asked for more.

And ended up exactly where he was rumoured to be.

I dont blame him. I would take a 7 year promotion.

But he left. He didn’t want it. People need to move on

 

[Stephen]

Around the NHL: Maple Leafs could extend Keefe, Penguins make big commitment to Dubas

If Sheldon Keefe keeps his job as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he'll likely get an extension, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

www.sportsnet.ca

Pittsburgh Penguins

Speaking of Dubas, Friedman says he has received a lengthy contract from the Penguins, who hired him as president of hockey operations last week.

"From what I understand, it's big term. I think it's seven years for Dubas to be the president of hockey operations and interim GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins," Friedman said.

Bet the under on him lasting the full 7 years. Those post Crosby Malkin years will be dark.

 

[Stephen]

Mirtle: Get ready for a Maple Leafs-Penguins rivalry — on and off the ice

With Kyle Dubas in Pittsburgh and ready for battle in the Eastern Conference with his old team, a heated new rivalry has just been born.

theathletic.com

How Dubas’ exit was foreshadowed in 2017

We’ll never know for sure, but more and more people you talk to around the league believe Dubas had at least some inkling the Penguins seriously wanted him when he went into those failed, odd negotiations with Shanahan last month.

Which puts what happened in a different light.

The thing, too, is that the notion of Dubas feeling chafed and wanting more autonomy in Toronto is not a new one. In fact, it was happening early on in his tenure with the team, soon after Lou Lamoriello was brought in as GM in July of 2015.

By the spring of 2017, the Colorado Avalanche, in the midst of a disastrous last-place season, were courting Dubas for a high-level front-office role. Then-GM Joe Sakic wanted to push the Avs in a more analytical direction, and he wanted permission to talk to Dubas.

That wasn’t granted. And my understanding at the time was that this was when Shanahan promised Dubas that he would succeed Lamoriello as GM the following year.

There were some now-familiar themes in that story: “The Leafs’ front office is full of division and disagreement, even as the team has excelled and exceeded expectations on the ice. There’s a circle of power and influence that’s being contested by a lot of big personalities — Lou Lamoriello, Mike Babcock, Mark Hunter etc. — and the results aren’t always pretty. One result of that is Dubas’ voice has been marginalized.”

One thing I recall being really interesting in reporting out that story was that people close to Dubas believed he would be happy to go to a place like Colorado, where he could do more of the “weird” things he wanted with a roster and front office than it felt would be possible in Toronto. That sort of unfettered ability to exact change, without the heavy scrutiny in a large market and a somewhat overbearing ownership situation, always appealed to Dubas, even six years ago.

Now, Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a tiny hockey market. There is going to be prying eyes. But FSG is new to hockey, and they’re going to be turning over the keys in full here. In the president role, Dubas finally should have closer to the total control that he’s long wanted and that he wasn’t going to get by staying in Toronto.

While a lot of the takes after Shanahan fired him a couple weeks ago admonished Dubas for “overplaying his hand” in negotiations, the better, more accurate read of the situation, especially in hindsight, is that he was fully prepared to move on entering those talks.

After not being given a contract extension last summer, Dubas finally had the ability to contemplate life outside of Toronto and that emboldened him to take the stand he did with Shanahan.

Yes, a late request for more autonomy from the MLSE board didn’t go his way, but Dubas had been in the organization for nine years. He had to have known how that would be received by a board that refused to extend him after a 115-point season.

Dubas would have also known, like everyone in the hockey world, that Pittsburgh was about to have a major house cleaning and push in a more analytical direction, thanks to new ownership.

Dubas had to have known he would have other options when the dust settled. Options more in line with what he had been seeking since being blocked from going to Colorado in 2017.

So, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on what Dubas does with the Penguins as he builds out that front office and roster. Some of his hiring in Toronto was unorthodox, and some executives with other teams have been critical of the unique four-person AGM set up he put in place, but that may have been only the beginning.

A bigger, more fundamental question for James Mirtle is, why will it be worth keeping an eye on what Kyle Dubas does in Pittsburgh for Toronto based coverage in the future?

We are obviously wrapping up a contentious era in Leafs history now, so this is still a relevant topic in a critical offseason for now. But as time goes by, why should we really care? Who cares the size of the front office he wants to build for the Fenway Group? Who cares what he puts around Crosby and Malkin. Who cares what screwball stuff he wants to try with the Penguins? The best part of the job he did in Toronto was the normal meat and potatoes GM'ing anyway. Good luck and begone.

 

[Peasy]

A bigger, more fundamental question for James Mirtle is, why will it be worth keeping an eye on what Kyle Dubas does in Pittsburgh for Toronto based coverage in the future?

We are obviously wrapping up a contentious era in Leafs history now, so this is still a relevant topic in a critical offseason for now. But as time goes by, why should we really care? Who cares the size of the front office he wants to build for the Fenway Group? Who cares what he puts around Crosby and Malkin. Who cares what screwball stuff he wants to try with the Penguins? The best part of the job he did in Toronto was the normal meat and potatoes GM'ing anyway. Good luck and begone.

I'm curious to know how many articles they wrote about lou after he was fired. I'm assuming most of the articles at that time were pro dubas and not much about lou. Their obsession is getting a little strange and cringey. We care about the Leafs. If Kyle Dubas does something that influences the leafs, then discuss it at the time and when he happens. All this speculative bs is getting ridiculous.

I know Mirtle and Jonas havent been the only ones in this regard too. A lot of people appeared to have been completely swooned by Kyle Dubas. His presser told me all I needed to know about the guy.

I will say though, I was critical of all the sdpn people to be acting like this too but it seems like Adam has finally stopped sippin the Dubas Kool-aid. He was constantly reminding steve and jesse that he never really accomplished anything here and its possible a new set of eyes does good for this franchise.