Kyle Dubas Appreciation Thread - Mad Man Edition

[hotpaws]

Outside of maybe Boston in the East, doesnt every other team have that?

the 2 NY teams

 

[Zybalto]

the 2 NY teams

Shesterkin is having a down year and doesn't scare me quite as much but, yea, I suppose Sorokin should scare me but I guess us lighting him up for 5 goals last time out is still stuck in my memory.

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

Gms of Boston Tampa Rangers Devils even Isles would never let today pass without making the Hampus Lindholm level trade or depth adds like Boston Tampa level if it's a "go for it" year.

Boston adds a guy, they either get impact player or impact depth. Leafs lose sandin, bring in lottery team depth and fans go nuts over the GM lol.

O'Reilly isn't enough to keep job if no top 4 comes in today. Commit to Holl top 4 is worse than if we committed to Campbell for goalie in a contender year. The defence and grit still too low. Team can be exploited very easily and the opponents are very strong impressive teams who can do it.

No extend.

 

[kb]

Gms of Boston Tampa Rangers Devils even Isles would never let today pass without making the Hampus Lindholm level trade or depth adds like Boston Tampa level if it's a "go for it" year.

Boston adds a guy, they either get impact player or impact depth. Leafs lose sandin, bring in lottery team depth and fans go nuts over the GM lol.

O'Reilly isn't enough to keep job if no top 4 comes in today. Commit to Holl top 4 is worse than if we committed to Campbell for goalie in a contender year. The defence and grit still too low. Team can be exploited very easily and the opponents are very strong impressive teams who can do it.

No extend.

This is the definition of a failpost.

The Leafs did more to enhance their chances than any other contender.

 

[AllHeartNoSkill]

I think even Dubas’s toughest critics have to admit that the moves made the last few weeks are the types of players we’ve been asking for for years.

 

[Atomos2]

Outside of maybe Boston in the East, doesnt every other team have that?

Every other team isn't facing Vasilevsky in the first round tho....

 

[Zybalto]

Every other team isn't facing Vasilevsky in the first round tho....

Some bright signs are that:

a) We did a decent job last year against him

b) He's been looking really sluggish the last few games and am hoping he's wearing down as the Bolts are afraid of losing ground to us and don't trust their backups all that much.

Could you imagine he took an injury? It may the most damaging injury to any team in the league, including McDavid.

Since 2020:

Vasy:
.919

Backups:
sub .900

Keep playing him hard Bolts!

 

[Atomos2]

The way Kyle's talking in his press conference, it sounds like he thinks it'll be his last trade deadline with our team. ..or at leas think that its all in their hands now. All this talk about needing luck in the playoffs and having a great staff and trying to win for them. Almost heart-breaking to hear.

 

[BraveCanadian]

When you see the moves other teams made I don't see how you could grade what Dubas did as anything special. ROR was pretty good move for a team going for it. The rest of the depth moves made us grittier but those depth players play less and less when the bench shortens in the playoffs so I'm not sure how much of an impact they will make. Engvall and Sandin trades were essentially downgrades if you look value for value.

I do think once they smarten up and stick with center depth Matthew > Tavares > ROR, that could really work out.

 

[Tak7]

Kyle Dubas presser, post-deadline:

1 - On whether he expected to be busy on deadline day: felt that when they made their moves earlier in the week, and especially after the 3 moves on Tuesday, that it would be fairly quiet for rest of the week barring anything unforeseen.​

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2 - On the rarity of a top team making this much change: his goal wasn't to make lots of change, but identify what they needed as a team, address that, and then deal with the ramifications from a cap & player count perspective. Plan in flat cap season was to always take the first 40 games and evaluate what you had, and then act after that. Says that his comfort with the group's ability to adapt to new players coming in, gave him confidence to make these moves. Also points out that guys like ROR and Schenn arrive with personalities of being some of the best guys in hockey, so makes it easy to insert those pieces into the room. Does admit that once flurry of Tuesday moves were complete, they did turn discussion towards having the right chemistry in the room and not wanting to tweak it too much further. Feels he has addressed what the team needs, and now wanted to give players & coaches the ability to settle down and get to work.​

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3 - On the lack of goaltending upgrades: remains very confident in club's goaltending. Key assessment for the team was seeing how Ilya Samsanov would respond / recover when things weren't going well. Says he's done an excellent job with that - follows up his rare struggles with strong bounce performances. Says Murray will be back very soon, and points to Woll being an AHL All-Star who has played very well at the NHL level so far. Also says club have Kallgren. Matt Murray has experience winning the cup, and he believes in Samsanov & Woll's potential.​

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4 - On the Gustafsson / Sandin deal - On the Sandin trade, liked that they got a 1st rounder and a body that could help. Points to the Marlies needing some help on the blueline, and this deal helped the team more than moving Sandin just for draft capital. Team has discussed Gustafsson for some time, going back to the summer.​

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5 - On getting Schenn - Felt that on the back end, needed 1 more size/physical defender with plenty of experience was important. Says acquiring the draft pick for Engvall helped move things along and was best for the club's overall depth.​

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6 - On Sandin - Been part of the organization for 5 years. As they evaluated the blueline, felt like the draft capital would allow them to either add high end prospect at draft, or survey the trade market heading into the draft.​

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7 - On why so much trade activity happened early this year - Can only speak for themselves. Felt that once St. Louis went active early with moving Tarasenko, came to realization that Blues wanted to continue moving quickly as Armstrong had a number of different pieces in play to retool. The longer you can have new guys in, the better, as it helps them get settled in faster and rolling.​

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8 - On carrying 9 NHL-quality Dmen and what drawbacks come with that - Admits to resency bias going back to November when only Giordano and Holl were healthy full time NHLers on the blueline. Would prefer to have many options, and thinks competition for places doesn't hurt. Doesn't just fall on Keefe to figure out the D-core, and he will work closely with Keefe to manage all the bodies. Says roster limits being lifted today will allow the club to manage all 9 Dmen, plus bring in a 13th forward should they require it. Says he would much rather be in a position where they have 1 too many Dmen, instead of 1 too few.​

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9 - On how the team is different now - The third period in Edmonton exemplifies how they are different. More competitive, more sacrifice, more putting themselves on the line to do the unsexy and unfancy things that help them win. Feels internally that their own players have done much better job improving in that regard as well.​

10 - On the pressure on the core, and Matthews' struggles - Auston has played through some injuries. Has improved defensively & overall as a player, and if this is considered a "down" season for him, that's a great sign. Says he likes that the core have helped lift each other this season - when one guy isn't going, the others step up and carry each other. Says the playoffs will come down to everyone executing their role, and thinks the core is at that stage where they will take that step.​

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11 - On finding that balance between maintaining chemistry & wanting to add pieces - says being around the group and having a sense for what they can handle, helps. Knowing how different guys impact the team, and their contributions off the ice, is something he measures. Relies on the team's Personel Department to know about the people they are bringing in & what impacts they can have. Feedback on all 6 people they've brought in this past week, have been exemplary.​

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12 - On how he now views this team - The goal is to win, and to set themselves up for success. Have to ready ourselves every day for what's ahead. Calls Tampa a "championship organization" everyday, and that "hard things are hard" - says that they know that, and have to work towards it and be ready. Says that his group need that challenge, and thinks they thrive under it.​

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13 - On Murray's health - No setbacks. In full practice today, and assuming he comes through, it's down to the medical staff & coaches on when he's back in. Doesn't anticipate it being long.​

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14 - On what it's like getting a deal over the line - Calls it a relief. Always apprehensive that a deal won't get done, and suggests that could have been motivator this week to get business done early. Says it's a good feeling to get it done, and then focus immediately changes to how it will all fit. Credits his staff for helping deals come together.​

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15 - On O'Rielly's impact - Off the ice, he's fit in seemlessly. His preparation & practice habits have been excellent. On the ice, he's producing right off the bat. More importantly, the way he plays is always the right way for a player and team that wants to win. Not always stuff that stands out, but is always does things like being above his man to prevent clean breakouts, and has great stick details. Says he does a lot of things that he feels are vitally important to winning in the post-season. Believes it's starting to impact others on the team.​

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16 - On newly acquired Radim Zohorna - Adds to center depth. Scouting staff felt he played really well for Calgary, especially in the minors. Felt like they had excess on wing, and feels you can never have too many center options. Liked idea of adding non-veteran to the Marlies as help. Wants Marlies to win as well - currently in 1st place having a really good season. Wanted to do right by Marlies staff, and not have too many veterans there (Hunt is 28).​

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[darrylsittler27]

It takes 25 games min for a new player to gel, we have 7 new faces. First round will tell the tale.