There is at least one team in the NHL — possibly as many as three — paying close attention to Kyle Dubas’ status as general manager of the Maple Leafs.
torontosun.com
There is at least one team in the NHL — possibly as many as three — paying close attention to Kyle Dubas’ status as general manager of the Maple Leafs.
Dubas, who is working on the last year of his contract in Toronto and was not re-signed last summer when team president Brendan Shanahan wanted to re-up his chosen GM. And now, with Dubas’ status possibly tied to upcoming Maple Leafs playoff success,
there are more than whispers that other clubs around the league have taken the position of waiting to see whether Dubas will, in fact, be available at the end of the season.
One of those teams is thought to be the Pittsburgh Penguins, where general manager Ron Hextall is in difficulty and the status of club president Brian Burke is uncertain. The Pens have relatively new ownership in Fenway Sports Group, which includes LeBron James as a minority shareholder, along with bigger money players like John Henry and Tom Werner.
The GM world of the NHL has been in flux in the wake of Philadelphia firing Chuck Fletcher, of Barry Trotz replacing the retiring David Poile in Nashville at the end of the season, and with all kinds of uncertainty in Pittsburgh,
Ottawa (with new ownership on its way), Philly, Calgary, with GM Brad Treliving at the end of his agreement, and unknown circumstances possibly in Winnipeg and Columbus.
Word around the NHL now is this: If the Leafs don’t choose to retain Dubas as general manager, he won’t be out of work for long.
THAT AND THAT
The hockey fan’s refrain: If the Leafs don’t beat Tampa Bay in the opening round of the playoffs, Dubas will be gone as GM. My response: If they don’t beat the best goalie in the world and maybe the best coach in the world,
and they choose not to keep Dubas, who would they replace him with? Who better to do the job than him? … This is the ultimate dilemma of the Leafs’ playoff circumstance. They can win one round, but could they win a second round against Boston? Will anyone do that? And do you hold a GM, a coach, the president, all of them, accountable for doing what might not be possible? This is a Leafs team capable of playing for a Stanley Cup. Getting there — now that’s the challenge. These are the Stanley Cup circumstances for any team in the Atlantic Division …