End of Season Pressers (Monday May 15)

[Gallagbi]

I believe what you listed are examples of not being good enough and can be considered explanations that contributed to their series loss.

Unlucky goal posts and good goalies are excuses.

You dont think goaltending impacts results? Id say it was a pretty important factor in our series, both the Round 1 win and Round 2 loss.

 

[andora]

Just watched some clips from mcdavid drai and hyman end of years

Such a difference in how they spoke and the points they touched on

 

[Tak7]

Says this and then right under says lucky to win round 1.........
They were, and Florida was lucky to win round 2. That is what I am saying.

Right - but when the same things keep happening year after year, it's not luck anymore. There's only so many times you can get bumps and scratches on your car before it stops being everyone else's fault, and you just become a bad driver.

I know they are, but the players are allowed to say that Bobrovsky was the main reason for the loss. You just said we are lucky for beating Tampa, spoiler alert, Vasi sucked, and that's why they won, goalies are part of the team.

Bobrovsky. Price. Korpisalo. Vasy. As mentioned above, eventually it stops being about you "getting goalie'd" , and you just "not being good enough". We're at that point. This collection of players isn't good enough.

Do you have a source on them not hating losing?

The evidence is right in front of our eyes - no team that seriously hates losing & actually has the fortitude & mental strength to win at this time of year, shows up the way they did (or didn't) in game 3. We don't even need to look at the exit interviews for proof; the only time they get pissy is if the coach calls them out, like he did in October and then was forced to walk it back once he realized how mentally fragile they are.

Everyone here makes a lot of assumptions about the players/staff/organization from limited information, it is always just funny that the fanbase and media jumps to these conclusions and states them as fact when it is not fact.

7 years. Between their play, their behavior, and their handling with the media, we're given enough information to form assumptions about them. They know what's being said about them. They've had ample opportunity to change what's said about them. They still haven't produced. Form your own conclusions from that.

O'Rielly took accountability, so what? He sucked, does him saying he sucked make it better? Let's re-sign him because he sucked, but at least he told us that.

It's extremely telling that the veteran with winning experience who isn't associated with this core, is taking accountability while the core isn't.

It's also extremely telling that ROR has spent a few weeks in that dressing room and has decided he isn't coming back.

 

[Tak7]

"Its Toronto or nothing!" after realizing Calgary and Pittsburgh are the only other options.

Kyle is horrible negotiator. Its no wonder the players bent him over on contracts.

He wasn't negotiating.

 

[egd27]

You dont think goaltending impacts results? Id say it was a pretty important factor in our series, both the Round 1 win and Round 2 loss.

Sure it does.

The Leafs offense was not good enough to overcome good goaltending.

Again

 

[ShaneFalco]

Sure it does.

The Leafs offense was not good enough to overcome good goaltending.

Again

Goalied

 

[Gallagbi]

Sure it does.

The Leafs offense was not good enough to overcome good goaltending.

Again

I dont think anyone claimed they overcame it. People have said goaltending was a factor in the loss, which seems like an accurate claim, no?

 

[Tak7]

I dont think anyone claimed they overcame it. People have said goaltending was a factor in the loss, which seems like an accurate claim, no?

Factor? Yes
Excuse? No

You pay $40m to four forwards, so good goaltending doesn't become a factor or excuse for why you lost.

 

[egd27]

I dont think anyone claimed they overcame it. People have said goaltending was a factor in the loss, which seems like an accurate claim, no?

I don't think anyone could claim they overcame it.

Of course goaltending was a factor, it always is.

But if we're counting on coming up against mediocre goaltending in order to win a playoff series, we're probably in for a lot more pressers like Monday.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I agree (maybe not all but one game, but we got outplayed).

Players stating this seems to be a big no-no though, which I don't understand. Bobrovsky was the main reason for the win by Florida, they got chances, they ran into a good goalie, stating that is not an excuse. That is all I am trying to say.

They had more chances than the Tampa series and scored much less, that to me is what they are saying. I am pretty sure a few said they need to bury those chances, that is taking responsibility.

These interviews are pointless, everyone just interprets them how they want. Dubas' interview has now led to a group here saying he is negotiating by saying he may step away when it was reported that is sounded like he got offered an extension after Tampa.

There's some truth to that, but IMO game 3 was where the series was decided. Remember game 3? That was the one where Marner had perhaps the worst game of his career and the team played like garbage as a whole.

Blaming the loss on goaltending, while like I said there maybe a bit of truth there, is also the 100% wrong way to look at this because it's missing the main problem by a mile which is that all too often when it's crunch time, this team folds. These guys don't stick up for each other, there is no passion that I can detect, it's a group of individuals and not a team. That's the problem right there and I'll bet that this team never goes deep as long as management can't understand that and instead, blames the annual disappointments on goaltending.

Remember getting outscored by a combined total score of 11-2 in 3 consecutive series deciding games in previous years? Remember losing the 3rd period of game 7 to Boston 4-0? Funny how this seems to happen almost every year, no matter who our goalie is.

Part of the reason you pay $40m to four forwards, is so good goaltending doesn't become a factor or excuse for why you lost.

Exactly. When people are saying we got outgoalied year after year after year after year after year, there comes a point when an reasonable person starts to think that you know what, maybe there's something about our team that makes the opposing goalies look good.

I was at that point after losing to CLB, firing shot after shot right at the goalies, or firing it wide, or hitting the post ...

 

[TheDoldrums]

Just watched some clips from mcdavid drai and hyman end of years

Such a difference in how they spoke and the points they touched on

sounds like us. Basically still talking about learning how to win. Would be ripped apart here.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Obviously but that doesn’t change the fact that they most likely have had many conversations prior to the presser yesterday.
do you really think his wife is going to tell him to walk away from a great paying job, his dream job this early in his career because its hard and people are being mean to him.
I get it if he was in his 60’s and had a long career in the NHL but his first nhl GM job…..come on even you can’t believe that would happen.
It was just a lame thing to say to get some sympathy or as many posters have figured if he doesn’t get an offer he can walk away with a little pride intact.
so I will say it one final time. No way in hell he walks away if they offer to keep him

They've probably had many conversations, but they were unfinished, as this season wasn't completed, and he didn't know what the offer would be. Now, it sounds like he's gotten an offer, so he's taking time to discuss with his family. It's not about his wife telling him to do anything, and it's not just people being mean. Being a GM of the Leafs in Toronto is incredibly demanding and stressful, especially in a critical era when a portion of the fanbase feels entitled to a cup. Especially when you care like Dubas does. It's a big commitment, and it's a normal thing to get discuss big life decisions with your partner. There's nothing weird about that, and there's no reason to believe this random conspiracy about it being some weird act to draw sympathy. Contrary to what you may believe, he doesn't need your sympathy or even this job. He's a multi-millionaire with a top tier resume that could walk into a job that will pay him millions whenever he chooses. Maybe he'd rather spend a year with his growing kids. Hopefully not, because he's a big benefit to this organization, and it would be sad and pretty chaotic to lose him.

 

[Gallagbi]

I don't think anyone could claim they overcame it.

Of course goaltending was a factor, it always is.

But if we're counting on coming up against mediocre goaltending in order to win a playoff series, we're probably in for a lot more pressers like Monday.

So whats the issue with players or fans commenting on factors in the loss? Isnt that exactly what this board and these press conferences are for? To dissect what happened?

 

[hockeywiz542]

Dave Feschuk: Under Kyle Dubas, the Maple Leafs have been a failed experiment. It’s time for an overhaul

If this Leafs team is ever going to be successful it needs somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends.

www.thestar.com

OK, so he’s almost getting there. Take out the “perhaps.” Swap the “slightly” for “significantly.” And maybe Kyle Dubas would be closer to sniffing the faintest hint of the Stanley Cup’s scent.

Make of that what you will. If time is money, the folks who employ Dubas, whose contract expires July 1, will need to acknowledge the considerable tab that’s been run up in allowing Dubas to self-indulgently tinker with his precious vision while the post-season losses have piled up. It’s certainly not comforting that the inherent flaws in his roster — obvious to many years ago — are only now being seen by Dubas as potential trouble spots.

Not that anybody can claim to understand the organizational standards currently in place at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. It’s been most of 15 months since Michael Friisdahl stepped down as CEO, at which point the conglomerate that owns the Leafs announced they were launching a global search for Friisdahl’s replacement. Fast forward to today and the search, by the estimation of multiple longtime observers, appears to have been abandoned. It’s still interim CEO Cynthia Devine at the helm. And given Devine’s background as the former chief financial officer — someone more concerned with the company’s always-healthy balance sheet than the Leafs’ often-troubling playoff scoresheet — it wouldn’t be unfair to wonder if there’s anyone in possession of actual power who’s perturbed enough by the team’s perennial underachievement to demand better.

What we do know is this: In the coming days Brendan Shanahan, coolly surviving in year nine of an 11-year guarantee as team president, will explain the Leafs’ predicament before the board of directors, as he always does at the end of a season. And where things go from there will be anyone’s guess. Sacrificing the coach — attached to a promise to, say, test the market for Mitch Marner — seems the easy play.

But if you’re a Leafs fan, you can only hope somebody in the meeting raises a concern about the country-club atmosphere that continues to pervade Toronto’s dressing room. In five years on the job, Dubas has been lauded for creating an inclusive organizational culture in which no expense is spared to make club employees feel included and valued and empowered. Dubas clearly loves his players, especially the highest paid ones. Even in the face of alarming playoff underperformances against the likes of Columbus and Montreal and now Florida, he has repeatedly professed his annual belief that they’ll eventually deliver on their potential.

So it was only predictable on Monday, knowing their GM isn’t guaranteed a tomorrow, the most important players in Toronto’s dressing room professed their undying appreciation for Dubas.

And why wouldn’t they? Dubas has a) given most of them every dollar they’ve asked for; b) proven himself to be a weak negotiator against their respective agents; and c) done nothing but profess blind belief in their abilities.

Which speaks to the state of things. In Dubas’s Leafland, everybody loves everybody.

If the Leafs are ever going to be successful they need somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends. Certainly they need players who care more about winning games than making every last morsel of money. Because you know the troubled history here. Toronto’s Core Four ran roughshod over a neophyte Dubas in previous contract negotiations, demanding a combined 50% of the salary cap in a series of self-serving deals.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Dave Feschuk: Under Kyle Dubas, the Maple Leafs have been a failed experiment. It’s time for an overhaul

If this Leafs team is ever going to be successful it needs somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends.

www.thestar.com

OK, so he’s almost getting there. Take out the “perhaps.” Swap the “slightly” for “significantly.” And maybe Kyle Dubas would be closer to sniffing the faintest hint of the Stanley Cup’s scent.

Make of that what you will. If time is money, the folks who employ Dubas, whose contract expires July 1, will need to acknowledge the considerable tab that’s been run up in allowing Dubas to self-indulgently tinker with his precious vision while the post-season losses have piled up. It’s certainly not comforting that the inherent flaws in his roster — obvious to many years ago — are only now being seen by Dubas as potential trouble spots.

Not that anybody can claim to understand the organizational standards currently in place at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. It’s been most of 15 months since Michael Friisdahl stepped down as CEO, at which point the conglomerate that owns the Leafs announced they were launching a global search for Friisdahl’s replacement. Fast forward to today and the search, by the estimation of multiple longtime observers, appears to have been abandoned. It’s still interim CEO Cynthia Devine at the helm. And given Devine’s background as the former chief financial officer — someone more concerned with the company’s always-healthy balance sheet than the Leafs’ often-troubling playoff scoresheet — it wouldn’t be unfair to wonder if there’s anyone in possession of actual power who’s perturbed enough by the team’s perennial underachievement to demand better.

What we do know is this: In the coming days Brendan Shanahan, coolly surviving in year nine of an 11-year guarantee as team president, will explain the Leafs’ predicament before the board of directors, as he always does at the end of a season. And where things go from there will be anyone’s guess. Sacrificing the coach — attached to a promise to, say, test the market for Mitch Marner — seems the easy play.

But if you’re a Leafs fan, you can only hope somebody in the meeting raises a concern about the country-club atmosphere that continues to pervade Toronto’s dressing room. In five years on the job, Dubas has been lauded for creating an inclusive organizational culture in which no expense is spared to make club employees feel included and valued and empowered. Dubas clearly loves his players, especially the highest paid ones. Even in the face of alarming playoff underperformances against the likes of Columbus and Montreal and now Florida, he has repeatedly professed his annual belief that they’ll eventually deliver on their potential.

So it was only predictable on Monday, knowing their GM isn’t guaranteed a tomorrow, the most important players in Toronto’s dressing room professed their undying appreciation for Dubas.

And why wouldn’t they? Dubas has a) given most of them every dollar they’ve asked for; b) proven himself to be a weak negotiator against their respective agents; and c) done nothing but profess blind belief in their abilities.

Which speaks to the state of things. In Dubas’s Leafland, everybody loves everybody.

If the Leafs are ever going to be successful they need somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends. Certainly they need players who care more about winning games than making every last morsel of money. Because you know the troubled history here. Toronto’s Core Four ran roughshod over a neophyte Dubas in previous contract negotiations, demanding a combined 50% of the salary cap in a series of self-serving deals.

Not a fan of DF but this is pretty accurate

 

[ToneDog]

sounds like us. Basically still talking about learning how to win. Would be ripped apart here.

Except he's showed up for the last two playoffs (53 points in 28 games). If only he could also play goal.

 

[29Potvin]

sounds like us. Basically still talking about learning how to win. Would be ripped apart here.

But they put up big numbers on the PP so everyone leaves them alone.
Fact that He and Dri had 20/18 pts and were minus players and both LA and LV handed it to them 5v5.
If this was the Leafs coming off the conference finals last year and lost in the second round the media and fans would be even worse as that would be a step back.
Dri and McD have no pressure because they put up points and carry the load offensively but get the same results.
Hyman has always taken accountability for his playoff failure but yet still hasn't accomplished anything riding shotgun with arguably the two best players in the world

 

[hockeywiz542]

Tim Benz: If Kyle Dubas is sincere about his intentions, he may be saving himself — and the Penguins — a headache

If Kyle Dubas is sure that he doesn’t want to be an NHL general manager in another city besides Toronto, then the Penguins shouldn’t try to tempt him to Pittsburgh. I’ve heard some fans and media types speculate that Dubas is just negotiating, that he is downplaying any desire to

triblive.com

A married man and father of two, it’d certainly be understandable if the stress of running the Maple Leafs in a hockey-mad (and Stanley Cup-starved) city such as Toronto resulted in strains on his family members as well. It’s a tough grind. For him, and for them.

Many of us have made moves that we think make sense for ourselves professionally until they stop making sense at home.

I’ll pause for a minute if anyone else in the back of the room wants to raise their hand with me. I can type lefty. It’s OK. I’ll wait.

Clearly, the stress of that gig was getting to Dubas by the season’s end. He was frequently seen yelling at officials in the press box during games while throwing water bottles. He even got into it with some fans in Tampa Bay.

Can you blame him? In that gig, in that town, I probably would’ve thrown more than a water bottle. And I probably would’ve been drinking something stronger than water in the first place.

I know the inclination is to say that, in Pittsburgh, it won’t quite be the pressure cooker that Toronto is.

That’s true. It won’t be.

But it sure as heck won’t be easy, either. The Penguins are an aging team that has already faded fast from its Stanley Cup glory days of 2016-17. The roster is old, overpriced, overrated and contractually restricted.

The fanbase is growing impatient. The new ownership group is out of touch and has yet to change its reputation from that of a bunch of faceless, corporate muckety-mucks.

The goaltending is a mess. The farm system is bereft of talent. The coach is stubborn and caked with power, and the veterans on the team probably have more influence than they should.

Aside from that, boy, is it a wonderful job for a general manager to consider!

Especially for a 37-year-old who may be a bit frayed and on the edge of premature burnout.

Dubas is a bit of a polarizing option as GM. On the one hand, he entered the business as a forward-thinking analytics whiz kid. As of now, he’s built editions of the Leafs that have enjoyed good regular-season success, and he is the first GM to engineer an iteration of that franchise to get a first-round playoff series win since 2004.

 

[ToneDog]

Tim Benz: If Kyle Dubas is sincere about his intentions, he may be saving himself — and the Penguins — a headache

If Kyle Dubas is sure that he doesn’t want to be an NHL general manager in another city besides Toronto, then the Penguins shouldn’t try to tempt him to Pittsburgh. I’ve heard some fans and media types speculate that Dubas is just negotiating, that he is downplaying any desire to

triblive.com

A married man and father of two, it’d certainly be understandable if the stress of running the Maple Leafs in a hockey-mad (and Stanley Cup-starved) city such as Toronto resulted in strains on his family members as well. It’s a tough grind. For him, and for them.

Many of us have made moves that we think make sense for ourselves professionally until they stop making sense at home.

I’ll pause for a minute if anyone else in the back of the room wants to raise their hand with me. I can type lefty. It’s OK. I’ll wait.

Clearly, the stress of that gig was getting to Dubas by the season’s end. He was frequently seen yelling at officials in the press box during games while throwing water bottles. He even got into it with some fans in Tampa Bay.

Can you blame him? In that gig, in that town, I probably would’ve thrown more than a water bottle. And I probably would’ve been drinking something stronger than water in the first place.

I know the inclination is to say that, in Pittsburgh, it won’t quite be the pressure cooker that Toronto is.

That’s true. It won’t be.

But it sure as heck won’t be easy, either. The Penguins are an aging team that has already faded fast from its Stanley Cup glory days of 2016-17. The roster is old, overpriced, overrated and contractually restricted.

The fanbase is growing impatient. The new ownership group is out of touch and has yet to change its reputation from that of a bunch of faceless, corporate muckety-mucks.

The goaltending is a mess. The farm system is bereft of talent. The coach is stubborn and caked with power, and the veterans on the team probably have more influence than they should.

Aside from that, boy, is it a wonderful job for a general manager to consider!

Especially for a 37-year-old who may be a bit frayed and on the edge of premature burnout.

Dubas is a bit of a polarizing option as GM. On the one hand, he entered the business as a forward-thinking analytics whiz kid. As of now, he’s built editions of the Leafs that have enjoyed good regular-season success, and he is the first GM to engineer an iteration of that franchise to get a first-round playoff series win since 2004.

Was handed a playoff team and in 5 years managed to win a round in which they were outplayed in 5 of 6 games by a team who's best dman was not 100% and who's #3 dman played 11 minutes. Whatever was gained by beating Tampa was lost by losing to Florida IMO. As such, the experiment should be over. Dubas bet "everything" on this core. After 5 consecutive disappointing playoffs, time to pay the house.

 

[The Masters]

Dave Feschuk: Under Kyle Dubas, the Maple Leafs have been a failed experiment. It’s time for an overhaul

If this Leafs team is ever going to be successful it needs somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends.

www.thestar.com

OK, so he’s almost getting there. Take out the “perhaps.” Swap the “slightly” for “significantly.” And maybe Kyle Dubas would be closer to sniffing the faintest hint of the Stanley Cup’s scent.

Make of that what you will. If time is money, the folks who employ Dubas, whose contract expires July 1, will need to acknowledge the considerable tab that’s been run up in allowing Dubas to self-indulgently tinker with his precious vision while the post-season losses have piled up. It’s certainly not comforting that the inherent flaws in his roster — obvious to many years ago — are only now being seen by Dubas as potential trouble spots.

Not that anybody can claim to understand the organizational standards currently in place at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. It’s been most of 15 months since Michael Friisdahl stepped down as CEO, at which point the conglomerate that owns the Leafs announced they were launching a global search for Friisdahl’s replacement. Fast forward to today and the search, by the estimation of multiple longtime observers, appears to have been abandoned. It’s still interim CEO Cynthia Devine at the helm. And given Devine’s background as the former chief financial officer — someone more concerned with the company’s always-healthy balance sheet than the Leafs’ often-troubling playoff scoresheet — it wouldn’t be unfair to wonder if there’s anyone in possession of actual power who’s perturbed enough by the team’s perennial underachievement to demand better.

What we do know is this: In the coming days Brendan Shanahan, coolly surviving in year nine of an 11-year guarantee as team president, will explain the Leafs’ predicament before the board of directors, as he always does at the end of a season. And where things go from there will be anyone’s guess. Sacrificing the coach — attached to a promise to, say, test the market for Mitch Marner — seems the easy play.

But if you’re a Leafs fan, you can only hope somebody in the meeting raises a concern about the country-club atmosphere that continues to pervade Toronto’s dressing room. In five years on the job, Dubas has been lauded for creating an inclusive organizational culture in which no expense is spared to make club employees feel included and valued and empowered. Dubas clearly loves his players, especially the highest paid ones. Even in the face of alarming playoff underperformances against the likes of Columbus and Montreal and now Florida, he has repeatedly professed his annual belief that they’ll eventually deliver on their potential.

So it was only predictable on Monday, knowing their GM isn’t guaranteed a tomorrow, the most important players in Toronto’s dressing room professed their undying appreciation for Dubas.

And why wouldn’t they? Dubas has a) given most of them every dollar they’ve asked for; b) proven himself to be a weak negotiator against their respective agents; and c) done nothing but profess blind belief in their abilities.

Which speaks to the state of things. In Dubas’s Leafland, everybody loves everybody.

If the Leafs are ever going to be successful they need somebody in charge who loves winning games more than making friends. Certainly they need players who care more about winning games than making every last morsel of money. Because you know the troubled history here. Toronto’s Core Four ran roughshod over a neophyte Dubas in previous contract negotiations, demanding a combined 50% of the salary cap in a series of self-serving deals.

MLSE changed the way they operated when Leiweke came on board. They don't need a President and CEO for MLSE because the President's ie. Masai and Shanny report directly to Larry and the Board. That's the best way to do it. These guys want to report to the owners. Having a CEO who runs the financials (their previous CFO) makes sense to them.

 

[WillNy29]

But they put up big numbers on the PP so everyone leaves them alone.
Fact that He and Dri had 20/18 pts and were minus players and both LA and LV handed it to them 5v5.
If this was the Leafs coming off the conference finals last year and lost in the second round the media and fans would be even worse as that would be a step back.
Dri and McD have no pressure because they put up points and carry the load offensively but get the same results.
Hyman has always taken accountability for his playoff failure but yet still hasn't accomplished anything riding shotgun with arguably the two best players in the world

Draisatls last four games he was -7 and had 1 assist.

McDavids last four games he was -1 and had 5 points two of which were on the power play.

These kind of numbers would get eviscerated here by our fanbase; but for some reason all other Canadian teams get coddled by the media and our fans.

Was handed a playoff team and in 5 years managed to win a round in which they were outplayed in 5 of 6 games by a team who's best dman was not 100% and who's #3 dman played 11 minutes. Whatever was gained by beating Tampa was lost by losing to Florida IMO. As such, the experiment should be over. Dubas bet "everything" on this core. After 5 consecutive disappointing playoffs, time to pay the house.

why are you making excuses for Tampa's loss? last year the leafs arguably outplayed Tampa but didn't win would you have preferred that?

 

[ToneDog]

Draisatls last four games he was -7 and had 1 assist.

McDavids last four games he was -1 and had 5 points two of which were on the power play.

These kind of numbers would get eviscerated here by our fanbase; but for some reason all other Canadian teams get coddled by the media and our fans.


why are you making excuses for Tampa's loss? last year the leafs arguably outplayed Tampa but didn't win would you have preferred that?

I'd say last year vs Tampa was even. IMO the win over Tampa this year masked the fact that this team is no different than it has been since Dubas took over. The loss to Florida pretty much backs that up.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Reading between the lines.

Dubas because of all his past failure has strategically put himself into a lame duck GM position this year on an expiring contract, having given no reason for ownership to extend him earlier. That means he can't be fired, or at least there is no need to officially fire him if the organization decides to move on and simply lets his deal expire July 1st unsigned, which in effect is the same end result.

However, Dubas can now pretend (based on his comments today) that its up to HIM to decide if his Leaf tenure can continue, and use this exit ramp now, and MLSE just let him fade into the night and keep his reputation and resume intact to not include being fired, should they want to move on without him. "We have both mutually agreed to move on in a new direction" ..

If Dubas had a contract beyond this season, then he wouldn't be giving us these sound bites today, and be telling US he has yet to talk to Shanny and ownership about his future for next year and it would be Shanny coming out and saying what the decision was coming from ownership down and not management up.

Now MLSE has bought themselves some time to make a decision behind closed doors and now perhaps Dubas future might be tied to other potential GM candidates to interview and maybe they come back to Dubas and extend him based on THEIR decision more than Dubas calling his own shots...

Dubas however as a pending UFA can decide then if he wants to return, but we haven't heard anything publicly that Dubas is their man and they're working on an extension. Dubas made no reference of being in contract talks, and hopes to remain Leafs GM going forward but the opposite of leaving the door opening to his departure over stress and family reasons.

Does his contract as GM end July 1? If so, that could be a problem.

If they leave him in charge, he is the one who has to negotiate with Matty and Willy, plus possibly extent Keefe, none of which I'm thrilled with. If he has another offer, what are the chances he pulls a Lou, who didn't re-sign Komarov, but grabbed him for NYI?

If they are going to let him go, I'd prefer they fire him and get a replacement before July 1.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Does his contract as GM end July 1? If so, that could be a problem.

If they leave him in charge, he is the one who has to negotiate with Matty and Willy, plus possibly extent Keefe, none of which I'm thrilled with. If he has another offer, what are the chances he pulls a Lou, who didn't re-sign Komarov, but grabbed him for NYI?

If they are going to let him go, I'd prefer they fire him and get a replacement before July 1.

What a disaster
Shanny should have to answer for this

 

[ToneDog]

Does his contract as GM end July 1? If so, that could be a problem.

If they leave him in charge, he is the one who has to negotiate with Matty and Willy, plus possibly extent Keefe, none of which I'm thrilled with. If he has another offer, what are the chances he pulls a Lou, who didn't re-sign Komarov, but grabbed him for NYI?

If they are going to let him go, I'd prefer they fire him and get a replacement before July 1.

Should have been decided after they went down 3-0 to Florida and announced Saturday.