Not me. I thought it made sense to give Campbell a shot at the starter's job when Fred really started slipping and he's done just about everything you could ask to prove he's up for it (aside from a bit of a shaky outing in Game 7 vs. MTL). I may not be right often, but it looks like I might have been right on this one.
In my opinion, Dubas should've put his faith in Campbell this off-season by inking him to a long-term deal. Then figure out what is left over for the backup/1B. If that's Mrazek, great. If that didn't leave room for Mrazek or someone comparable, then you start looking at cheaper options. But not getting cost certainty on Campbell when our cap is so tight was a mistake (IMO).
In a perfect world with unlimited resources, allowing Jack to play out his contract and then re-evaluate would have made sense. But we don't live in that world and I think betting on Jack was a gamble worth taking.
Now, Dubas might not have the same level of faith in Campbell that I do. Or maybe Jack had no inclination to re-sign last year and wanted to bet on himself to raise his stock. If it's the latter, there's not much Dubas could do. Though I would argue that in that case, investing a significant chunk of change (and term) in Mrazek was short-sighted since it further limits what kind of raise we can offer Jack. I am not one who believes Mrazek's contact will be easily moved if he has a lackluster and/or injury-plagued season. If Campbell was open to it (and I suspect he would have been), last off-season seems like the optimal time to get a bit of a deal on a guy who was ready to take on the starter's job but didn't have the track record to demand huge money. Given Jack's story and the way he talks about his experience in Toronto, I think he would have been agreeable to a long-term commitment from the Leafs at a team-friendly figure.
I am not one to crap on Dubas. I certainly don't look for reasons to bitch about him. I don't advocate him being fired. But being proactive in resigning key guys has not been his forte and may ultimately be his Achilles heel.
