Confirmed with Link: Kyle Dubas named President of Hockey Operations

[Scandale du Jour]

Yea they should have. He may work out in Pitts but his time in Toronto was over. He took his shot, doubling-tripling down on his vision and it didnt work. Liked him when he arrived and really didnt like him by the time he left.

Nah, the problem is that none of the Leafs' top players step up when the chips are down. Matthews and Marner are especially meh in the playoffs. Cannot win when your two best players do not show up.

Dubas did a good job building a team around them the last two years and they still failed miserably. Goalie situation aside, he did a good job.

I do not what he will be able to do in Pittsburgh though. We are in a pretty meh situation at the moment.

 

[myleafs]

I completely understand Leafs fans wanting to move in another direction. C'mon... that's reasonable.

It's the self-righteous, condescending attempt to act like this is this devastating, idiotic move for the Penguins while that team has been spinning it's wheels in the mud for almost 60 years that is both hilarious and pathetic to me.

I have always liked the Pens and was a huge Lemieux fan and still think he is the only player who came close to being as dominant and special as Gretzky. Crosby is right up there with my fave players....Leafs dont have a Crosby type player but I will trade you Nylander for him?

I hope for the Pens fans that Dubas does well for you guys even if I feel like his time in Toronto was over. It happens...coaches and gms have a shelf life and move on.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Ok and?....Dubas had a vision when he arrived, Shanny believed in him.....it didnt work out. so...are you saying Shanny should be fired? If the leafs fail again this year he probably will be but what Dubas did while in Toronto was build the softest team I have ever seen and for me thats whre he lost me. I liked Kyle when he arrived, nice guy by all accounts treated people well but his idea of how a team should look soured me on him. Others liked his vision. Did he learn and maybe change his ideas?....maybe,maybe not. He did have a good trade deadline though and brought in much needed grit....albeit a few yrs too late. How he left is another discussion.

Shanahan is a hack who should not be in the position he is in, so, yes, I would fire him.

Dinosaur that was put in the position he is in because of who he was on the ice and not because he has any management skills.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I have always liked the Pens and was a huge Lemieux fan and still think he is the only player who came close to being as dominant and special as Gretzky. Crosby is right up there with my fave players....Leafs dont have a Crosby type player but I will trade you Nylander for him?

I hope for the Pens fans that Dubas does well for you guys even if I feel like his time in Toronto was over. It happens...coaches and gms have a shelf life and move on.

No I completely agree. It was time for the Leafs to make a change. Though I'm not certain why they seem set on keeping Keefe. I wasn't referring to you BTW. It's a huge fanbase... you're gonna have some lemons.

I actually really like Nylander. But Imma have to pass haha

How bout BigJeff Carter, instead? Eh? EH?!?

 

[myleafs]

Shanahan is a hack who should not be in the position he is in, so, yes, I would fire him.

Dinosaur that was put in the position he is in because of who he was on the ice and not because he has any management skills.

okee dokee then.....Not that I can say Shanny is awesome but he did come to the leafs when they hadnt made the playoffs for 11 yrs. He brought stability and changed the leafs into a playoff team very quickly with his decisions and they have been a playoff team every year since so calling him a hack is just lazy. He is also the guy who gave your new gm his chance at the big time where nobody else did.

 

[myleafs]

No I completely agree. It was time for the Leafs to make a change. Though I'm not certain why they seem set on keeping Keefe. I wasn't referring to you BTW. It's a huge fanbase... you're gonna have some lemons.

I actually really like Nylander. But Imma have to pass haha

How bout BigJeff Carter, instead? Eh? EH?!?

I dont think they are set on keeping Keefe...new gm even said he will talk to him and they will go from there. I assume Keefe will end up with the Pens at some point given his and Kyles history.

Re Crosby for Nylander...we will throw in Murray

Carter?....jesus, is he still playing?

 

[pistolpete11]

1) Poehling feels like a guy stagnating, DOC like a guy ascending. Poehling has had a lot longer to figure out the NHL and doesn't seem to be doing so, while DOC seems to be getting better the more games he's given.

2) Style matters. Poehling feels like a Sheahan to me. Decent player, will occasionally remind you why he went so high, but is more plug and play useful than has a particular strength. O'Connor seems willing to use his speed and length as a particular strength. I don't think he's got Poehling's skill, but he's still going to have a better career as long as that holds up.

DOC is ascending? How so? Because he picked up a few assists in an offseason tournament where the NHL level talent is so bad that CDS was a starting goalie? Poheling's the same age and only has like 60 more NHL games than DOC, too.

Poehling has speed, size, and skill. He might not use his size quite as effectively as DOC, but he's got way more intriguing attributes than most of the schlubs they've cycled through the bottom 6 over the last 5 years or so.



And please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying Poehling's some diamond in the rough. I think he's probably nothing more than a 4th liner, but I think the same is true of DOC....yet people act like he is some diamond.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

okee dokee then.....Not that I can say Shanny is awesome but he did come to the leafs when they hadnt made the playoffs for 11 yrs. He brought stability and changed the leafs into a playoff team very quickly with his decisions and they have been a playoff team every year since so calling him a hack is just lazy. He is also the guy who gave your new gm his chance at the big time where nobody else did.

Honestly, he probably does in Toronto what Burke did here. Not much actual work. I might be wrong, but that is my impression.

 

[pistolpete11]

It's still a little wild to me that Poehling was clocked as the team's fastest skater.

Gotta love this "speed and skill" team that seems to very little of either one.

You know what's really going to blow your mind?

He wasn't clocked as the faster skater on this team. He was clocked as the faster skater in the league.

 

[Extra Texture]

Per Taylor Haase, Mike Sullivan says he wasn't very involved in the search process for a GM. It was only within the last week, Fenway's Dave Beeston asked him to speak with Kyle Dubas.

Does this kill the conspiracy theories about Mike Sullivan being the overlord of everything or we gonna ignore this

That's...unexpectedly positive. The way everyone in the org slobbers over the mere mention of Sullivan's name (it's not just them, people in the general hockey world do it too) give you the impression he is teflon, no matter what happens with the team.

It makes me think that if things really DO get out of hand in the regular season, then Dubas and hopefully the next GM are in no way beholden to him and will pull the trigger on ousting him dispassionately, based on the results.

 

[WickedWrister]

Why not keep both lol? This team lacks speed and young legs. Sully mentioned it in his presser today and surely addressing that is going to be a top priority this offseason.

 

[MrBurghundy]

It's still a little wild to me that Poehling was clocked as the team's fastest skater.

Gotta love this "speed and skill" team that seems to very little of either one.

I'd have to assume that was speed without the puck. If it was speed while carrying it, he'd be a lot better as a player.

 

[Andy99]

Only real nugget was towards the end, Molinari basically asked what last years team lacked.

Sully: Speed

Sure, if he wants to play the system that won the 2016 Cup…we have too many old guys we’d have to move out and younger, speedier guys to move in to accomplish that. We’re not going to be as fast as the top three teams in the Metro over the next two seasons. That’s why I want this guy gone. He needs to develop another way to play with the players he has, not the team he wishes he had and won’t have for a couple years

 

[MrBurghundy]

Sure, if he wants to play the system that won the 2016 Cup…we have too many old guys we’d have to move out and younger, speedier guys to move in to accomplish that. We’re not going to be as fast as the top three teams in the Metro over the next two seasons. That’s why I want this guy gone. He needs to develop another way to play with the players he has, not the team he wishes he had and won’t have for a couple years

While I definitely agree overall, I think speed also means quicker and more accurate decision making as well. Nobody moves as fast as the puck. We had too many players making slow and incorrect decisions with the puck last year.

But yes, foot speed is definitely going to be pretty hard to be competitive in moving forward.

 

[Andy99]

While I definitely agree overall, I think speed also means quicker and more accurate decision making as well. Nobody moves as fast as the puck. We had too many players making slow and incorrect decisions with the puck last year.

But yes, foot speed is definitely going to be pretty hard to be competitive in moving forward.

I think a lot of the slow/bad decisions were a direct result of having to move the puck quickly because of our lack of physical speed…teams in our division were on us quickly…it’s mainly a problem w our defense…couple faster D men would help a lot, probably more than the forward group, and not playing Carter would do wonders lol

 

[Ugene Magic]

While I definitely agree overall, I think speed also means quicker and more accurate decision making as well. Nobody moves as fast as the puck. We had too many players making slow and incorrect decisions with the puck last year.

But yes, foot speed is definitely going to be pretty hard to be competitive in moving forward.

Right, but as you stated, decision making, is faster than the puck. The Pens by no means was fast in 2016/2017 except certain individuals. Quality over quantity/speed.

 

[Icarium]

Yes, lack of speed was totally the reason the Penguins chances conversion rate was terrible last season. Everyone knows that if you skate really fast you must also be a great finisher. See Hagelin, Carl.

Sullivan is a broken record who needs to be fired ASAP.

 

[MrBurghundy]

I think a lot of the slow/bad decisions were a direct result of having to move the puck quickly because of our lack of physical speed…teams in our division were on us quickly…it’s mainly a problem w our defense…couple faster D men would help a lot, probably more than the forward group, and not playing Carter would do wonders lol

Yeah that's definitely a part of it, but there are players in this league that aren't "fast" but they play fast because they make those quick decisions even with pressure on them.

We just have too many people that are bad at both.

 

[Jacob]

In terms of analytics what current NHL coaches are the most open to them? My impression is Hakstol and Keefe are generally the most accepting, and Gallant is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Montgomery is big on the simple stats like getting big leads in shots and hits and faceoffs. Sully seems like he’d be kind of in the middle. Which, I think, is what you want in a coach.

 

[Deport Ogie]

I haven't seen this announced or anything and it was buried in a Yohe article but apparently they already shitcanned 3 Hextall employees including Kerry Huffman. No word on Nepo Baby Pryor but perhaps they will let him stew until the draft is over.

Add: It was "per a team souce speaking on condition of anonymity"

 

[JTG]

In terms of analytics what current NHL coaches are the most open to them? My impression is Hakstol and Keefe are generally the most accepting, and Gallant is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Montgomery is big on the simple stats like getting big leads in shots and hits and faceoffs. Sully seems like he’d be kind of in the middle. Which, I think, is what you want in a coach.

The advanced analytics crowd lost me when they were thumping their chests over a puck possession team not needing to win faceoffs to give them a better chance to win. I guess some hold water, but the game of hockey is so fluid, placing team stats on an individual basis doesn't seem like the most accurate thing to do. Maybe I'm just old and dumb?

I haven't seen this announced or anything and it was buried in a Yohe article but apparently they already shitcanned 3 Hextall employees including Kerry Huffman. No word on Nepo Baby Pryor but perhaps they will let him stew until the draft is over.

Add: It was "per a team souce speaking on condition of anonymity"

Anyone associated with Hextall should be blackballed from the NHL. Any NHL team that hires him needs their f***ing heads examined.

 

[hockeywiz542]

32 Thoughts: The real question facing new Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving

Will Ryan Smith bring a team to Salt Lake City? What's next on the Senators' ownership timeline? And what will be the fallout from the Brad Treliving and Kyle Dubas hirings? Elliotte Friedman has that and more in this edition of 32 Thoughts.

www.sportsnet.ca

3. This has been a superb spring for NHL conspiracy theories. The latest: that this is what Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan, Brad Treliving, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs wanted for months. Dubas made the decision on Tuesday night / Wednesday morning to accept the Penguins job, and there were immediate changes in the organization as the transition began. He made it clear that he will keep the GM job into July, but make no mistake, he will not be ceding the role even if someone else gets the title. Dubas could have taken a slight step back, as there were several teams who reached out about joining them in advisory positions — either short-term or with the idea of an eventual bigger position. But he dove into deep waters. The most interesting reaction to his move is how many people thought it was very “personal,” how other execs think he is driven to immediately prove Toronto made a mistake. 

4. Dubas talked about a “progressive” hire as GM. The Penguins discussed using these titles strategically, knowing that if they want to hire someone from another organization, a promotion will be mandatory. Could "progressive" mean the first female GM in NHL history? The Maple Leafs would not discuss what agreements they made with Dubas in regards to taking anyone to Pennsylvania with him. Toronto will do what it can to keep assistant GM Brandon Pridham. One to watch: director of amateur scouting Wes Clark.

 

[Malkinstheman]

I haven't seen this announced or anything and it was buried in a Yohe article but apparently they already shitcanned 3 Hextall employees including Kerry Huffman. No word on Nepo Baby Pryor but perhaps they will let him stew until the draft is over.

Add: It was "per a team souce speaking on condition of anonymity"

Pryor is gone literally seconds after the draft ends. No chance nepo baby is kept. Also, did the article mention who the other two employees were?

 

[Peat]

DOC is ascending? How so? Because he picked up a few assists in an offseason tournament where the NHL level talent is so bad that CDS was a starting goalie? Poheling's the same age and only has like 60 more NHL games than DOC, too.

Poehling has speed, size, and skill. He might not use his size quite as effectively as DOC, but he's got way more intriguing attributes than most of the schlubs they've cycled through the bottom 6 over the last 5 years or so.



And please don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying Poehling's some diamond in the rough. I think he's probably nothing more than a 4th liner, but I think the same is true of DOC....yet people act like he is some diamond.

He had a better season in '23 than he did in '22. Given his age, experience, and ability to make big jumps in ability, it's reasonable to expect he might be better again.

I'll agree that Poehling has a ton of interesting tools. I don't see a toolbox or identity. At his age it's possible he can form one but when a guy seems to be going backwards in his 2nd and a bit NHL season, and seems to lack outstanding physical or mental traits, I don't bet on it.

edit: I just saw what you posted about him being clocked as the fastest skater in the league. That blows my mind. It also reinforces my belief that he doesn't have an adequate toolbox if that sort of speed isn't super apparent with him.

So yeah. I see a potentially meaningful ceiling for DOC. I see similarities in his arc and willingness to use his athleticism to Tanev and Coleman. Not an awesome NHLer, but a meaningful one of the type teams overpay for when they can't develop them themselves. Poehling... could switch it on and be a great middle six tweener by the end of next season, but last season was the season I'd have expected to see the switch.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

Pyror is gone literally seconds after the draft ends. No chance nepo baby is kept. Also, did the article mention who the other two employees were?

Yeah but he's only 30 and heading up the whole-ass amateur scouting department!

Can this team really afford to give up on what must obviously be a brilliant young mind? I mean why else would he be hired for such an important position?