Dubas details his 'biggest mistake' as Leafs GM in new book

[JackSlater]

How do busy people write books? Too many people write books

Dubas didn't write the book, he was just interviewed for it.

While it is funny that he didn't realize he f***ed up Toronto's contract situation, at least he... somewhat seems to get it now. Some GMs never learn.

 

[Canovin]

Not understanding it doesn't matter if Tavares is comparable to big 3 or not. Overpaying one guy will affect the whole team somehow. This doesn't just apply to the Leafs

If your GM and star players understand this, your cap structure become manageable

 

[LevelingSolo]

WE CAN AND WE WILL!!!!!!

 

[SEALBound]

In hindsight, yeah, dumb signing overall. But at the same time, imagine the backlash if he DOESN'T sign Tavaras. Imagine the Toronto fan and media reaction: O.M.G. you have a 1ov talent like Tavaras that wants to play for his boyhood team! OMG how could you not sign him! That's the kind of 1C franchise player you MAKE ROOM FOR! Huge opportunity missed! OMG if they don't win, it will be because of this!

I think for Tavaras, he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't.

 

[Sky04]

Everyone knew that except Toronto fans

 

[Voight]

I mean on one hand, when Eichel got 10 million/year that kind of set the floor for whatever Matthews and possibly Marner were going to get providing they didn't bust.

 

[Stephen]

His biggest mistake. Taking a job he was/is totally unqualified for.

It’s served him well personally but professionally he’s basically JFJ with a head start with good board room game and inexplicable fan support.

 

[Voight]

"JT sweepstakes". Is that the wish.com/temu version of a sweepstakes?

They ere multiple teams in the running to sign him, including the Sharks who offered $13 million/year.

 

[sena]

Dubas "I dont need a number one center so I will spend 11 million on one"
Tells all his mistakes and lessons learned in a book
Goes to Pitts "I dont need a offensive PP quarterback Dman so I might as well spend 11 million on one"

yep still has no clue

 

[Maple Leaf]

Not a mistake signing Tavares. But after adding him Dubas should have traded either Marner if Nylander, whichever brought the better return.

Could have kept Kadri and Hyman

 

[12ozPapa]

When stuff comes out about GMs like this, I truly believe most of HF users could run a team. Not even kidding.

 

[GOilers88]

Yup. Thats what he did but he isnt admitting it and claiming this as just a "mistake" of a new GM. This mistake is common knowledge, not nuance.

Very common in the corporate world to have short sighted executives making selfish decisions.

I'm not a Dubas fan, and I don't entirely disagree with you. But I think it's fair to appreciate that while it may look like a guy grasping at excuses, I don't think it's that unreasonable to look at it as a rookie GM legitimately making a mistake.

I strongly believe most GM's would attempt the same "mistake" if a star free agent, who grew up a fan of your team, hit the market and wanted to play for you. The contract itself sucked, sure. But we've seen countless teams sign big name players to contracts that don't age well. A contract not aging well is a far cry from a player and said contract not helping the team.

Likewise with his negotiating attempts with his core 3. I can legitimately see how a young, rookie GM in likely the biggest market in hockey could fumble a situation like that. I have 3 big up and comers, and adding an all star free agent to that seems like a no brainer. As a fan it's easy to sit here and critique things when I have zero attachment to a situation and the people and nuances involved in that situation. There's always a human element involved in stuff like this that fans are completely disconnected from.

I do think he probably learned some things and that were he to be in the same situation again things would probably play out differently, but maybe not.

 

[BLNY]

They ere multiple teams in the running to sign him, including the Sharks who offered $13 million/year.

I know. It's a statement about the prize, not how many "bought tickets".

 

[Bounces R Way]

The biggest mistake related to Tavares was not the contract or the fallout (regarding the extensions for Matthews, Marner) but that he wasn't needed in the first place.

They had a #1 in AM, a #2 in Kadri and a #3 in Bozak. Not the greatest C depth in the league. So the day Tavares joined the Leafs he was a #2 (or would be very soon) making $11M. Nonsensical in a cap world.

Even worse, they had big holes on the blue line and in net. The two positions they absolutely did not need any help was at C and RW (Mitch, Willie, Kapanen).

Yup, this right here.

Dubas allocated 77 million to a position he already had filled. The Leafs had really done a lot right in their rebuild up until that contract. A top pairing RHD was the much more obvious need.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

We knew this the day after the signings

Only took him like 4 years to figure it out

also, where’s the Tavares signing mentioning? Another grade A screw-up by him

 

[GirardSpinorama]

I'm not a Dubas fan, and I don't entirely disagree with you. But I think it's fair to appreciate that while it may look like a guy grasping at excuses, I don't think it's that unreasonable to look at it as a rookie GM legitimately making a mistake.

I strongly believe most GM's would attempt the same "mistake" if a star free agent, who grew up a fan of your team, hit the market and wanted to play for you. The contract itself sucked, sure. But we've seen countless teams sign big name players to contracts that don't age well. A contract not aging well is a far cry from a player and said contract not helping the team.

Likewise with his negotiating attempts with his core 3. I can legitimately see how a young, rookie GM in likely the biggest market in hockey could fumble a situation like that. I have 3 big up and comers, and adding an all star free agent to that seems like a no brainer. As a fan it's easy to sit here and critique things when I have zero attachment to a situation and the people and nuances involved in that situation. There's always a human element involved in stuff like this that fans are completely disconnected from.

I do think he probably learned some things and that were he to be in the same situation again things would probably play out differently, but maybe not.

But did he learn though? He just acquired Erik karlsson, another big name piece as one of his first moves. A statement making splash. That contract isnt gonna end well. I dont at all believe his intentions, he seems arrogant as hell and doesnt deserve any excuse as a "young GM" of a big market. Wow, its a tough market but guess what, that also means he has the most resources in the NHL to be able to offer front loaded deals with bonuses.

 

[LeafGrief]

The biggest mistake on the Leafs isn't the dollar values on their contracts. That's a contender for biggest mistake, don't get me wrong, but the real culprit for why we always lose in the first round is that the inmates run the asylum. Dubas hired Keefe, who never made the players accountable. Dubas was part of the decision to make Tavares Captain. Marner's ego is what functionally runs the team, and it's the weak leadership structures above and around the players that cause our core to crumble every year.

I'd love for us to have money for a goalie, or another top4 D, or whatever you could buy with better contracts for the big 4. But far, far shittier teams than us have won rounds, or even multiple rounds. If our problems were just that we had an extra PPG C for a few years instead of a better goalie and a 2RD, we'd have at least run some rounds. No, our problems are that our core are a bunch of basket cases when the other team play like meanies.

The mistake wasn't giving Tavares money and as a result giving extra money to Matthews and Marner, the mistake was giving Marner the keys to the kingdom and a coach who had to apologize on TV every time he said the core was kind of ass.

 

[BHD]

Kyle Doofas

 

[Theodore450]

LEAFS NOTES: Kyle Dubas delves into his 'biggest mistake' in new book and, no, it wasn't the Tavares signing

While Toronto's former general manager doesn't regret pursuit of John Tavares and a multi-year contract, the fallout had consequences.

torontosun.com

No shit

 

[613Leafer]

While all true, Dubas couldn't have forecasted COVID-19 or the impact it had on the salary cap. Certainly not trying to excuse his decisions, but the stagnant cap made things a lot more difficult for teams without cap flexibility.

I honestly think that impact is exaggerated (I agree there was an impact, but I think it was pretty minor). All of our other signings over those flat cap years would have been more expensive had the cap been going up. So it's not as simple as saying we'd have the exact same roster + $5-10M extra capspace if the cap had risen ~$5-10M. Instead, take your pick of Kampf, Jarnkrok, Liljegren, Giordano, Simmonds, Samsonov, Engvall, Holl, Mikheyev, Rielly, etc - they each would have cost ~$100K-500K+ more than they did had the cap been rising.

His decisions around Tavares and those RFA contracts were highly problematic, regardless of the flat cap.

 

[Eternal Leaf]

The issue is the core never performed in line with their regular season exploits.

The cap structure was and is off but not enough for them to keep losing in the first or second round. They should still have been a team that goes deep even if it does not win the cup.

His biggest mistake was putting too much trust in a core that is flimsy when it matters and then the flat cap made it worse. Should have been more harsh with them and start cutting pieces from the core.

 

[dgibb10]

I mean on one hand, when Eichel got 10 million/year that kind of set the floor for whatever Matthews and possibly Marner were going to get providing they didn't bust.

Mikko Rantanen's contract should have been the CEILING on marner.

 

[malcb33]

You shouldn't play with money you don't have.

So I take it you've never had a mortgage before...lol

Hindsight certainly makes a lot of people look smarter than they think. Dubas gambled on the rising cap, it didn't happen, and his plan failed. MLSE didn't adjust quick enough either IMO

 

[Weltschmerz]

Mikko Rantanen's contract should have been the CEILING on marner.

He signed after Marner.

 

[dgibb10]

He signed after Marner.

Oh yeah, makes it more egregious.

To this day, not a single RFA winger other than marner has surpassed 9.5 mill AAV.

On a pre arbitration, hometown kid, with 20 goal seasons under his belt, AND not getting full term, that Mitch Marner contract is the worst show of negotiations I've ever seen