The Synergistic Effect Of Dubas Going All In

[Le Cobra]

So Kyle Dubas did it. He went all in.


I am reminded of the 2015 Blue Jays roster’s reaction to Alex Anthopolous’ big moves such as the David Price signing.

“I did get a text from Jose Bautista with just, ‘Is it true?’” Anthopoulos dished to reporters Thursday in a rare, gleeful moment. “And I said, ‘Yes,’ and he just wrote, ‘Yes’ with about a million exclamation marks.”

I am also reminded of Masai Ujiri’s moves before 2019. He addressed all the team’s needs and similar to our current Leafs organization, had a coach that the players respected.

#1 - Dubas kept 99% of the active roster except for Barabanov, which sends a strong message to the team. The message is clear: Dubas believes in this core and that no one is expendable (except for Andersen). From a team perspective: He wants to work with us and he has given us more ammunition and the needed support towards being a championship caliber team. We have to do our part and take full advantage of this (possibly) once in a lifetime opportunity being given to us.

#2- We acquired the pieces we need. We have the defensive depth with Nash and Hutton, the goaltending insurance in former starter Rittich. A young, energetic, and capable forward in Suomela. The crowning achievement was addressing the glaring hole during all our recent playoffs woes. Nick Foligno is the answer.

#3-
What other effect do these kind of trades have on the rest of the team?
Back to the thread title:

synergy- The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.

I believe these trades will have a synergistic effect on the rest of the team. Just like Bautista with the Price trade, the Leafs have as much reason to be more motivated to win. The weight on Matthews and Marner’s shoulders are not only lighter, but they have more opportunities to remain in the offensive zone with our revamped defensive front. If the chemistry is there, we could see one of the finest tuned tremendous machines in all the NHL.

I have been a Leafs fan since 1994 and I haven’t felt this much confidence and excitement in this roster and organization since 2000-2001.

Click to read more...

 

[dubplatepressure]

Overall body of work, I really like today. Love the pieces, and didn't spend any prospects to acquire them.

 

[Hogan86]

So Kyle Dubas did it. He went all in.


I am reminded of the 2015 Blue Jays roster’s reaction to Alex Anthopolous’ big moves such as the David Price signing.



I am also reminded of Masai Ujiri’s moves before 2019. He addressed all the team’s needs and similar to our current Leafs organization, had a coach that the players respected.

#1 - Dubas kept 99% of the active roster except for Barabanov, which sends a strong message to the team. The message is clear: Dubas believes in this core and that no one is expendable (except for Andersen). From a team perspective: He wants to work with us and he has given us more ammunition and the needed support towards being a championship caliber team. We have to do our part and take full advantage of this (possibly) once in a lifetime opportunity being given to us.

#2- We acquired the pieces we need. We have the defensive depth with Nash and Hutton, the goaltending insurance in former starter Rittich. A young, energetic, and capable forward in Suomela. The crowning achievement was addressing the glaring hole during all our recent playoffs woes. Nick Foligno is the answer.

#3-
What other effect do these kind of trades have on the rest of the team?
Back to the thread title:

I believe these trades will have a synergistic effect on the rest of the team. They should be even more motivated to win. The weight on Matthews and Marner’s shoulders are not only lighter, but they have more opportunities to remain in the offensive zone with our revamped defensive front. If the chemistry is there, we could see one of the finest tuned tremendous machines in all the NHL.

I have been a Leafs fan since 1994 and I haven’t felt this much confidence and excitement in this roster and organization since 2000-2001.

Dubas did well. Addressed several areas to add depth and improved our team. Sure the price for Foligno was high, and some fans dont like that, but in pro sports you got to pay to play. And Dubas did that, and has a roster set up for success. Let's hope the boys just buckle down, play hard and keep rolling. Been a Leafs fan since the early 90's and I've never had this much optimism ever.

 

[HolyCrap]

I like what he did. He filled the holes in the lineup. Super pumped. But I’m not sure if he went all in. He still kept all the top prospects. It appears the Leafs wanna contend now and in the future. If Dubas went all in he would have traded more prospects and sacrificed the future for just this playoffs. At least that’s how I define all in.

 

[Le Cobra]

I like what he did. He filled the holes in the lineup. Super pumped. But I’m not sure if he went all in. He still kept all the top prospects. It appears the Leafs wanna contend now and in the future. If Dubas went all in he would have traded more prospects and sacrificed the future for just this playoffs. At least that’s how I define all in.

I get where you are coming from. I was also thinking if we acquired Hall and Iafallo and Oleksiak this would be more “going all in”. But Dubas did what he could do with his limited cap space as well as negotiating with the most cooperative TDL partners. CBJ seemed to be very accommodating.

I perceive Dubas as someone who is somewhat frugal. Perhaps this is Dubas’ version of going all in. He probably has a back up plan for next season if this does not work according to plan. There is also no guarantee they will continue this North division playoff scenario, which may explain the risks being taken by many playoff bound teams.

 

[HolyCrap]

I perceive Dubas as someone who is somewhat frugal. Perhaps this is Dubas’ version of going all in. He probably has a back up plan for next season if this does not work according to plan. There is also no guarantee they will continue this North division playoff scenario, which may explain the risks being taken by many playoff bound teams.

That’s a good point. He sure put a good stack of chips on the table. I like the moves. Obv the team feels it’s ready to compete deep in the playoffs.

 

[Le Cobra]

That’s a good point. He sure put a good stack of chips on the table. I like the moves. Obv the team feels it’s ready to compete deep in the playoffs.

I get where you are coming from though. I updated my reply above

 

[TheGreatOne11]

This 100% was not all in, he covered the team needs without giving up the prospects so well done but definitely not all in.

All in would have been a big Sandin +1st +2nd, Kerfoot for cap reasons and possibly a third for a big name or something.

This was a job well done and kept us competitive and improved the team but far away from an all in homerun move.

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

Overpaying for average depth players is hardly going all in. It might pay off, we'll see, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember the legendary acquisition of Nick Foligno in a few years.

 

[Buds17]

Definitely an aggressive approach to putting the best foot forward for the present. That should be a good thing. Really just "all in" in terms of using future draft choices as trade bait though. The approach will hopefully galvanize the team. I'll leave tonight in the past as Foligno and company aren't here yet to prove their worth.

 

[seanlinden]

I have to give Dubas credit -- he addressed every need this team had in the last few days.

No, I didn't like giving up a 1st for Nick Foligno. I would have preferred Scott Laughton (especially with that contract); but that obviously wasn't mean to be. I don't believe it's necessarily wise to put us in a position of having a total 6 picks in the next 2 drafts.... but we did have 12 picks last year when scouting would have theoretically been more reliable.

However, he addressed the obvious weaknesses (grit at the bottom of the forward lineup & backup goaltender); while correctly identifying a very real potential weakness in what happens if a defenceman other than Dermott gets hurt, and got a big guy who's been playing all year at the NHL level.

Keep in mind...
-Rasmus Sandin has played 2 pro games this year
-Timothy Liljegren has played 14 in the AHL
-Martin Marincin has played 5 games at the AHL level.
-Calle Rosen has played 19 in the AHL

 

[Mentat]

Overpaying for average depth players is hardly going all in. It might pay off, we'll see, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember the legendary acquisition of Nick Foligno in a few years.

It may be remembered forever. We "just" need to win a Cup.

 

[Mickey Marner]

It's up to the players now, Dubas addressed every need for this run. Conference finals is the bare minimum this team should achieve. Not too worried about picks right now, we have two defensemen and one forward knocking on the door, plus a few others 2-3 years away. Don't need to worry about reinforcements 4-5 years from now, we need to take and a step forward this year.

 

[Ciao]

This is going all in. There is no more he could have done.

The big pieces were signed earlier. Matthews is the Kawhi Leonard. Tavares is their David Price -- or better yet, their David Cone.

The salary cap is a thing. He did what Tampa did last year -- fill in the holes with what little space he could engineer.

There is nothing left that could have been done.

 

[justashadowof]

Acquiring a 3rd line winger, a 7th defenseman and a backup goalie is not what I'd call "all in". Contenders do this sort of thing every year. Don't get me wrong, I fully endorse the moves. Later on, we may even identify one of these moves as making a difference.

 

[Gary Nylund]

It's up to the players now, Dubas addressed every need for this run. Conference finals is the bare minimum this team should achieve. Not too worried about picks right now, we have two defensemen and one forward knocking on the door, plus a few others 2-3 years away. Don't need to worry about reinforcements 4-5 years from now, we need to take and a step forward this year.

The biggest question mark for this team is goaltending. If Campbell can handle the job then great, he got us another goalie in case Andersen can't help out. If Campbell isn't up to the task then hopefully Rittich is (doubtful) because if our goaltending fails us, adding a couple of depth forwards and a depth Dman isn't going to change anything.

Conference finals was the bare minimum even without making any moves at all. After investing more futures for rentals, it's cup finals or bust now IMO. Dubas is gambling that our team (including goalies) is good enough now to justify spending futures on depth forwards with the hope that we can go beyond the semis, I hope he's right.

 

[Mickey Marner]

The biggest question mark for this team is goaltending. If Campbell can handle the job then great, he got us another goalie in case Andersen can't help out. If Campbell isn't up to the task then hopefully Rittich is (doubtful) because if our goaltending fails us, adding a couple of depth forwards and a depth Dman isn't going to change anything.

Conference finals was the bare minimum even without making any moves at all. After investing more futures for rentals, it's cup finals or bust now IMO. Dubas is gambling that our team (including goalies) is good enough now to justify spending futures on depth forwards with the hope that we can go beyond the semis, I hope he's right.

We have three goalies who can reasonably be expected to win a playoff game, up to the players to prove it.

Depends who we meet in the semis. I won't be too sour if we're knocked out by Tampa, they're objectively a better team.

Had Dubas done nothing and we got upset, I'd be calling for his head, but he did enough for me to shift any and all blame onto the players should they choke.

 

[DarkKnight]

This is the best chance we’ve had in a long time to win a cup, the group has balance and seems playoff ready. As a Leafs fan I’m always prepared for despair but strangely optimistic this year.

 

[Confucius]

Overpaying for average depth players is hardly going all in. It might pay off, we'll see, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember the legendary acquisition of Nick Foligno in a few years.

You don't forsee a game winning jump... ? LOL! You never know he could be quite legendary.

 

[ACC1224]

Overpaying for average depth players is hardly going all in. It might pay off, we'll see, but I really doubt anyone is going to remember the legendary acquisition of Nick Foligno in a few years.

You’re joking right? There are those that still weep about bringing in Boyle and Turtle Neck Boy.

 

[Gary Nylund]

We have three goalies who can reasonably be expected to win a playoff game, up to the players to prove it.

Depends who we meet in the semis. I won't be too sour if we're knocked out by Tampa, they're objectively a better team.

Had Dubas done nothing and we got upset, I'd be calling for his head, but he did enough for me to shift any and all blame onto the players should they choke.

If we lose in the semis but play well in doing so, that will probably be OK no matter who we lose to as we'll be playing a tough team no matter who it is. If however we don't get that far because our goaltending lets us down, then Dubas will have a lot to answer for.

 

[nsleaf]

If we lose in the semis but play well in doing so, that will probably be OK no matter who we lose to as we'll be playing a tough team no matter who it is. If however we don't get that far because our goaltending lets us down, then Dubas will have a lot to answer for.

Why, was there a better move

 

[justashadowof]

You’re joking right? There are those that still weep about bringing in Boyle and Turtle Neck Boy.

We'll all rue the day when that 1st rounder turns out to be an identifiable 3rd line forward.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Why, was there a better move

If the goaltending isn't good enough then I'd say there were two better options:

1 - trade for a better goalie
2 - if you can't swing a trade for a better goalie then don't waste futures on rentals

It's almost impossible to win the cup without good goaltending.

 

[Gary Nylund]

We'll all rue the day when that 1st rounder turns out to be an identifiable 3rd line forward.

It doesn't work that way - we'll never know who we would have drafted with the pick.