The Leafs have been in a full court press this week attempting to land a new General Manager after Brendan Shanahan decided that Kyle Dubas would not be returning as GM for next season. The leading candidate, according to many, is Brad Treliving due to his experience, but there are a number of other candidates as well - all currently unknown to the public.
Yesterday on the "Ray and Dregs" podcast, Darren Dreger and Ray Ferraro were discussing the Leafs' GM search and Ferraro raised a very good point about the balance of power in Toronto and the freedom to make roster decisions. This was a sticking point in the Dubas negotiations and ended up being the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.
"I want to know, am I making the decisions, or are you making the decisions," was a question posed by Ferraro in the context of interviewing for the GM position. Given all of the information that has come out since Dubas' departure about the power and influence that Shanahan showcased in turning down some of Dubas' moves and slowing down the process of completing trades so Dubas could not make decisions as quickly could very well be backfiring on the Leafs during their GM search.
The power that everyone now knows that Shanahan has could be a deterrent for some candidates that the Leafs would like to speak to or consider for the new GM position. That could ultimately lead to the Leafs and Shanahan hiring a GM or lesser intelligence and someone that ends up being more of a "yes man" who bends to Shanahan's will than a competent general manager with his own ideals.
