Nick Kypreos: The Leafs played hardball with Kyle Dubas, and now the clock is ticking
Even if his job can’t be saved unless the Leafs get past the first round, Dubas should’ve been granted a one-year extension to take some pressure off.
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Even if his job cannot be saved unless the Leafs get past the first round, I firmly believe the Leafs GM should have been granted a one-year extension last summer to take some pressure off.
So, why didn’t the Leafs feel the same way?
Despite the Game 7 loss to Tampa Bay last spring, Dubas didn’t deserve a year as a lame duck general manager. This really is no different than watching what Bruce Boudreau just went through with the Vancouver Canucks. Outside of the circus atmosphere that has thankfully been avoided in Toronto, the underlying message is exactly the same: We have lost faith in your ability to do your job and salvage this team beyond this season, unless you prove otherwise.
So who made the decision to not extend his contract for another year? Did that fall solely on Leafs president Brendan Shanahan? Or perhaps it was the board of directors at MLSE who didn’t like the internal optics of extending a contract for a playoff underachiever.
I find it hard to believe Shanahan, who stuck his neck out to first hire Dubas as assistant GM way back in 2014, would care about the perception of adding a simple industry-standard year to Dubas’s contract. If I was a betting man, I believe the board may have felt differently. This could be the new wave of hardcore NHL ownership tactics moving forward.
A one-year severance cheque would not hurt one of the wealthiest franchises in pro sports history, especially if doing so eliminated the elephant in the room — both for Dubas and his players, who no doubt will be worried about who might replace him if things go awry.
If we look at the bigger picture, outside of playoff disappointment, Dubas has done an admirable job in Toronto, especially for a guy who came to the Leafs with zero pro experience.
His rosters over the last four years have always held their own among the top-five teams in the league — at least in the regular season. He has gained a very strong reputation for finding undervalued assets and turning them into gems like Michael Bunting, Ilya Mikheyev, David Kämpf, Ilya Lyubushkin and Conor Timmins, just to name a few.
Under the MLSE roof you couldn’t find one person who doesn’t have a good word to say about Dubas. He’s hard-working, respectful, honest and a compassionate executive. Some may read this and say that doesn’t matter. But it does. It should have earned him a one-year add-on, especially if this season winds up being the best window for the Leafs to finally get over the hump. I’m not blind that Dubas has left himself vulnerable with no salary cap space, some suspect trades and depleted assets. He’s currently one of 10 contending GMs we can say the same for.
