Ranking Dubas' best transactions - #1

[ACC1224]

He set the team up with all the tools to win, which they did in the regular season having more success each season. The players and the coaches have to perform in the playoffs as well as the regular season.

The main tools were already there. Are you saying he added players and coaches that weren’t able to perform in the playoffs’?

I agree they need to be able to perform in both seasons.

Getting cheap on Marner was brutal given the known grievance of schedule B bonuses. Not only did they give Marner a fu prove it message despite his strong point trend over the last half of the season and a known situation of pairing him with a ppg center the next year, he did prove it in spades. They played hardball from the start and then put him into a driver's seat with nothing to worry about like injuries. There was no way he wouldn't have earned 8.5mm with JT on the lowside when he was trending 1.13ppg with Kadri. Such an idiot move for a play on pennies.

Yeah it would be interesting to know what he was thinking during all that. Pretty short sighted.

 

[socko]

I went Samsonov. Looks like a solid move so far.

 

[Kazparov]

Negotiating his way into President of Hockey operations for Pittsburgh is his best move.

Leafs it's the Muzzin trade. He did a good job retooling the defense about 3 (?) years ago. Went from a total disaster to passable with some young upcomers

 

[Racer88]

Would say that his best move was consistently setting the team up for success each offseason.

That probably was his best move………only problem is it was a failure each year

 

[LeafSteel]

Pretty easy - what were your favourite moves Dubas made.

Please let me know of any that should be added to the list.

Please add “Getting himself fired” to the list of options.

Thanks.

 

[seventieslord]

Muzzin trade is probably his best straight up move, unfortunate about the injuries. Don't think I can give to much credit to a gm picking at 57. Theres draft videos of Dubas discussing possibly trading that pick but the scouts were adamant to get Knies.

Yeah, sounds like he didn't really know how good Knies was.

And if he DID.... then how do you just sit there and wait until pick #57 to get him? If he's that good, trade up and make sure you get him!

 

[Antropovsky]

Moving himself to Pittsburgh.

 

[Martin Skoula]

That was the worst thing to happen to this team. It started the domino effect. Led to overpayment of our RFA's, Kadri trade, couldn't afford to sign Hyman, not being to create a deeper lineup.

That single signing is the biggest reason why this group has failed. Not because JT isn't a good player but because of everything else that happened as a result of that decision.

Would you want Hyman and Kadri combined for McDavid money through their late 30s with NTCs? Oilers fans were already complaining about Hyman being too injured to be effective last playoffs and Kadri’s year speaks for itself. Yes I know they both had freak seasons where they put up funny numbers, but realistically one or both would have to be gone eventually even without Tavares. I’m also not sure why it’s always Tavares’s contract that’s the reason we didn’t sign Hyman and not Kerfoot + Holl making his exact salary.

 

[centipede2233]

The Mrazek trade is a serious option here? Lol

This list just goes to show you how f’ing awful this guy was.

And yet it blows my mind some people think he did a good job. i guess there are just alot of dumb people in this world.

only in the NHL where you could underperform, apologize for screwing up, then get offered a 50% pay increase and promotion from another team. Mind blown!

 

[francis246]

Getting cheap on Marner was brutal given the known grievance of schedule B bonuses. Not only did they give Marner a fu prove it message despite his strong point trend over the last half of the season and a known situation of pairing him with a ppg center the next year, he did prove it in spades. They played hardball from the start and then put him into a driver's seat with nothing to worry about like injuries. There was no way he wouldn't have earned 8.5mm with JT on the lowside when he was trending 1.13ppg with Kadri. Such an idiot move for a play on pennies.

I’ve also said this so many times. The leafs have no one to blame but themselves. The schedule B bonus fiasco was handled so badly. Babcock trying to bury him on the 4th line early in his career for God knows what reason. Despite being one of our more talented wingers. Then the Babcock ranking stuff and the organization didn’t really do anything about it. They’ve fcked around with Marner his entire ELC. Are we really surprised he took Dubas to the cleaners?

From the jump they’ve treated Matthews as king shit and the others as secondary when all 3 are relatively on the same level. I think if they go back they would do things differently and given the schedule B bonuses and not signed Marleau. That would have saved them maybe $2m on Marner

 

[francis246]

This is a laughably bad list of "best" moves for a GM to have made.

Really? I rather everything Dubas did compared to the John Ferguson Jr Era and the Brian Burke era or even the Nonis Era. None of Dubas’ moves rank in the top 10 of worst Leafs moves in history.

Like are we that forgetful? We traded two unprotected firsts for Kessel!!! We traded Alex Steen and Carlo Coaliacovo for f***ing LEE STEMPNIAK. We have Mike Komarsarik 5 million to basically play a few games for us lol.

I get it we haven’t had success but I’d take everything Dubas has done compared to the past. I think people forget how bad 2005 to 2016 was.

 

[DarkKnight]

Trading concern for his family for personal ambition.

 

[Byron Bitz]

Add the Tavares and Brodie signings

 

[Notsince67]

I’ve also said this so many times. The leafs have no one to blame but themselves. The schedule B bonus fiasco was handled so badly. Babcock trying to bury him on the 4th line early in his career for God knows what reason. Despite being one of our more talented wingers. Then the Babcock ranking stuff and the organization didn’t really do anything about it. They’ve fcked around with Marner his entire ELC. Are we really surprised he took Dubas to the cleaners?

From the jump they’ve treated Matthews as king shit and the others as secondary when all 3 are relatively on the same level. I think if they go back they would do things differently and given the schedule B bonuses and not signed Marleau. That would have saved them maybe $2m on Marner

Would have capped willy and Auston as well.

Really? I rather everything Dubas did compared to the John Ferguson Jr Era and the Brian Burke era or even the Nonis Era. None of Dubas’ moves rank in the top 10 of worst Leafs moves in history.

Like are we that forgetful? We traded two unprotected firsts for Kessel!!! We traded Alex Steen and Carlo Coaliacovo for f***ing LEE STEMPNIAK. We have Mike Komarsarik 5 million to basically play a few games for us lol.

I get it we haven’t had success but I’d take everything Dubas has done compared to the past. I think people forget how bad 2005 to 2016 was.

I don't forget. Leafs were a shit show for a long time. Only in the light of that shit show did he look OK. Really no big accomplishments normally associated with smart drafts and killer trades.

 

[ACC1224]

Really? I rather everything Dubas did compared to the John Ferguson Jr Era and the Brian Burke era or even the Nonis Era. None of Dubas’ moves rank in the top 10 of worst Leafs moves in history.

Like are we that forgetful? We traded two unprotected firsts for Kessel!!! We traded Alex Steen and Carlo Coaliacovo for f***ing LEE STEMPNIAK. We have Mike Komarsarik 5 million to basically play a few games for us lol.

I get it we haven’t had success but I’d take everything Dubas has done compared to the past. I think people forget how bad 2005 to 2016 was.

None of those GMs wasted the potential Dubas was handed. That’s why he’s looked at as doing such a poor job.

 

[francis246]

None of those GMs wasted the potential Dubas was handed. That’s why he’s looked at as doing such a poor job.

I don’t think Dubas wasted potential. He can’t play on the ice. We didn’t have a ton of playoff success under him but that’s just as much on the players as it is Dubas. It’s 50/50.

I’m not a Dubas super fan but he gave us rosters that were good enough to compete each year except for the Columbus series. Our star players underperformed. I’d say the Montreal And Florida series in particular are squarely on the players and coaching staff not Dubas.

 

[francis246]

None of those GMs wasted the potential Dubas was handed. That’s why he’s looked at as doing such a poor job.

Burke wasted a shit ton of years trying to accelerate a rebuild. Burke had cap space and a ton of draft capital. Nothing to show for it. No top prospects, no long lasting players, no deep playoff runs. That to me was the most wasted era.

 

[ACC1224]

I don’t think Dubas wasted potential. He can’t play on the ice. We didn’t have a ton of playoff success under him but that’s just as much on the players as it is Dubas. It’s 50/50.

I’m not a Dubas super fan but he gave us rosters that were good enough to compete each year except for the Columbus series. Our star players underperformed. I’d say the Montreal And Florida series in particular are squarely on the players and coaching staff not Dubas.

He added the players and coaches that didn’t perform.

Burke wasted a shit ton of years trying to accelerate a rebuild. Burke had cap space and a ton of draft capital. Nothing to show for it. No top prospects, no long lasting players, no deep playoff runs. That to me was the most wasted era.

Low expectations.

 

[francis246]

He added the players and coaches that didn’t perform.


Low expectations.

Lol the Dubas acquisitions were actually decent playoff performers. Kerfoot prior to this year was probably one of our better playoff performers.

The guys who have constantly let us down have been the star players who were drafted before Dubas was GM. For me I find it hilarious that we let the players off the hook. They have underperformed so bad in the playoffs it’s not even funny.

He added the players and coaches that didn’t perform.


Low expectations.

I’m not understanding what you mean by low expectations?

 

[ACC1224]

Lol the Dubas acquisitions were actually decent playoff performers. Kerfoot prior to this year was probably one of our better playoff performers.

The guys who have constantly let us down have been the star players who were drafted before Dubas was GM. For me I find it hilarious that we let the players off the hook. They have underperformed so bad in the playoffs it’s not even funny.


I’m not understanding what you mean by low expectations?

Players are responsible as well but this is about Dubas.

No one expected the Burke teams to do much.
Dubas teams had much higher expectations

 

[francis246]

Players are responsible as well but this is about Dubas.

No one expected the Burke teams to do much.
Dubas teams had much higher expectations

I think a lot of context is needed when evaluating the Dubas era. The team did severely under perform on expectations, but Dubas also had a ton of shitty luck during his era.

- Tavares getting injured game 1 on a fluke accident play
-Muzzin’s back and neck breaking down for 3 straight playoff runs
- Amirov having cancer/tumor
- Robertson 2 freak accident injuries
- Andersen injuries in the playoffs
- Knies concussion
- Global Pandemic
- Playoff format changes

Overall I’d rate Dubas’ time here a B- or a C+. Not the worst GM, not the best just average. I think he’s drafted well, Sandin, Amirov, Robertson, Knies are all decent picks. Injuries kind of ruined everything for that prospect group. Thought Dubas was aggressive when he needed to be at the deadline.

I think he tried his best to not mortgage the future and make the best picks he can while trying to give the team a chance to make deep playoff runs. I think if given the chance he would have moved one of Marner or Nylander this off-season. I think that’s part of the reason as to why he’s gone.

For me the best thing he’s done is identifying college players and late round gems. He and Lou’s ability to find good players out of college was good. I’d like to see us continue to work that system and draft guys out of the USHL/NCAA.

 

[Rob Brown]

Why are we still so fixated on this guy? We all need to move on lol.

 

[ACC1224]

Why are we still so fixated on this guy? We all need to move on lol.

For some their love will never die.

 

[nuck]

I don’t think Dubas wasted potential. He can’t play on the ice. We didn’t have a ton of playoff success under him but that’s just as much on the players as it is Dubas. It’s 50/50.

I’m not a Dubas super fan but he gave us rosters that were good enough to compete each year except for the Columbus series. Our star players underperformed. I’d say the Montreal And Florida series in particular are squarely on the players and coaching staff not Dubas.

The thing is he inherited a 105pt roster that was already good enough to compete. Unless the Big 3 got worse that was kind of the floor because they hadn't even broken out yet. Also, how is the coaching staff not on Dubas? He can't be separated from his coach and his players. Its all his creation, and changing the bits that aren't the problem and not getting better results comes back to the GM.

Of course the current GM is running back the coach and the core players so maybe changing the bits is all we get.

 

[francis246]

The thing is he inherited a 105pt roster that was already good enough to compete. Unless the Big 3 got worse that was kind of the floor because they hadn't even broken out yet. Also, how is the coaching staff not on Dubas? He can't be separated from his coach and his players. Its all his creation, and changing the bits that aren't the problem and not getting better results comes back to the GM.

Of course the current GM is running back the coach and the core players so maybe changing the bits is all we get.

I’m not saying Dubas is void of all blame. I’m saying it’s a failure on all parts. Dubas could and should have made adjustments to the team after the Montreal series.

I think both are true, Dubas’ teams weren’t dog shit. The teams were good, he built decent teams. The players came up short a couple times and it was fairly close, losing a couple game 7 series.

I don’t blame him for hedging on 3 superstar homegrown talents. I think most GM’s would, hell even Brad is now. I think my biggest gripe with Dubas was overpaying the RFA’s that challenged the overall depth of the team. It’s hard to know what trades were available for the core 4. Maybe there wasn’t a fair value trade out there they felt made the team better.