(Apologies for the length of this post...obviously, feel free to skip or ignore!)
Well, it seems like Defense for Dubas has gone supernova during the dying days of the season. There's been plenty of hot gas spewed out over the years but perhaps they will finally lose some energy as their shining star fades into the background. Now, I hope you don't mind me indulging myself a bit with a retrospective, as I've slowly moved towards becoming a Treliving supporter and I think analysing the support he gets -- or doesn't get -- as GM (the title of this thread) goes hand-in-hand and overlaps with his predecessor and the attacks against him by Dubas apologists. So, I'm going to take some time to look back on what I've long considered to be the strange and curious Dubasite phenomenon after having observed it on HFBoards for years (mostly) from the periphery.
Why strange and curious? Well, to start, just look at the vast number of posts and the sheer verbiage defending all things Dubas from the small cabal of prolific posters who we're all too familiar with. The time, energy and emotion required is significant. But, how can anyone truly CARE so much for a GM? So much frantic intensity, so many hours typing out lengthy, anonymised arguments defending a GM who:
- is a stranger who doesn't know they exist
- stopped playing organised hockey at age 14
- was given his first job in management as a nepotism hire by the team his dad and grandfather worked for
- few people outside of the Soo ever heard of before he became Leafs Assistant GM
- is not a former player or coach
Please note I'm not rendering judgement (yet) on how good a job Dubas did or didn't do as Leafs GM. I'm pointing out how Dubas' pedigree is seemingly lacking in qualities that make him an obvious choice for such loyal fandom. Please also note I haven't mentioned the most glaring reason Dubas' detractors point to: the disparity between regular season success and playoff failure. This is something that arguably comes after the zealotry had already started to ramp up. For me, it's always been far easier to comprehend why Dubas became and still is scorned by many Leafs fans and pundits.
Perhaps the fandom started, therefore, simply because he was young, photogenic and had successfully marketed himself as having newfangled ideas -- he was hockey's Billy Beane, according to the publicity of the time. Dubas was presented to us as being proficient with fresh-faced analytics and as not reliant on the failed tactics of bumpy-knuckled, gap-toothed old boys (like yours truly). Analytics undoubtedly can be interesting and useful in sports. 'Moneyball' is a good book and an even better movie, but it exaggerates the role of analytics in the onfield success of the A's in those years and understates the contributions of established star players and experienced coaches. Analytics are a pivotal part of NHL teams' approaches, no doubt, but I think it's also vital to have people running a team who personally know what it's like to bleed on the bench. Dubas doesn't. He also always struck me as being a bit shallow and, frankly, fairly juvenile and cliched in the way he articulated himself. Is he shrewder in private? Possibly, although the circumstances of his firing suggest otherwise. Outwardly at least, Treliving appears wiser, less attention-seeking and much more down-to-earth to me -- he seems like he's more of a real hockey guy who's actually been in the trenches.
But, ultimately, it shouldn't be about personalities. We should focus on actual (not just expected!) outcomes, as well as on consistent team success (especially in the post-season) when judging a GM's performance. Of course, the playoff failures are a matter of record. But, for me, Dubas was mediocre at best in the role throughout his tenure, and not just because of the lack of playoff success. The whole Marner contract saga -- the negotiations, the number/term and the aftermath -- sickened me and soured me on Dubas (and on Marner and his camp) in the early going. I grudgingly accepted suspension-machine Kadri probably had to go at the time but hated the soft return. I cringed at the Foligno, Mrazek and Murray moves. I despaired at losing Hyman. Many of us will remember the discussion thread here on Dubas' supposed best moments a while back; I recall a notable absence of posts in there advocating for Dubas' best moves as GM. To this day, I'm not sure what anyone here, particularly his most ardent supporters, would agree on as his 'greatest' move: is it the Muzzin trade, before injuries took their toll? That would get my vote -- it wasn't Dubas' fault he broke down. Is it getting Schenn, O'Reilly and Acciari last year for a few weeks? I liked all three (especially the prodigal son Schenn) but who knows for certain if Dubas could have retained any of them -- I tend to doubt it given the contracts they got elsewhere. Late Dubas-era adds McCabe and Knies are promising and so he deserves credit for both; McCabe is turning into a real beauty, and Knies too, but any continued/future success for both will be developed on Treliving's watch and within his system. So, given the lack of pro hockey experience in his pedigree, the utter lack of playoff success during his tenure, the contract overpayments, the trades for damaged goods and the relative dearth of long-term character, why the never-say-die, past and ongoing Defense for Dubas?
Because of what I saw as the absence of bona fide reasons to become a vocal supporter of Dubas, I was for a long time bewildered by how Dubas could gain such persistent, unconditional fandom when GM/executives like HoF legends Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Ron Francis, Cam Neely and, yes, Brendan Shanahan have never seemed to be granted the same level of adulation in their current roles. So, I have now come to agree with some of the veteran posters I follow here about how this strange and curious phenomenon was/is actually never about Dubas' qualities. It's simply just about a few attention-seeking posters needing validation -- something commonly found on millions of discussion forums about a zillion different topics, I suppose. For some, the need to say 'I'm right, you're wrong' is a potent stimulus. I would argue that, as Dubas' reputation tanked and the consensus went against him, the few who had fallen for him needed to double down and thus 'Dubasite' entered the lexicon in Leafland.
I tested this theory a while back with a couple of my own posts, which predictably prompted some hyper-emotional reactions about Shanahan and Treliving, depicting the former as an impulsive backstabber who was completely unjustified in firing Dubas, justifying calling the latter a clown from the day he was hired and before he'd made a move as GM, and demonstrating constant fealty to the Defense for Dubas above all. Therefore, in my opinion, the most likely explanation is that fragile egos (and a seemingly limitless amount of spare time!) fuel much of the tedious, strange and curious Dubasite phenomenon.
(I'm grateful to anyone who had the patience to read this -- and thanks in advance for any responses. Hopefully we'll see some significant changes this offseason and I, for one, would like to see Treliving back).
