Insiders confirm that several teams are maliciously targeting the Leafs with waiver claims
Well, we've all heard the phrase ''where there's smoke, there's fire'', and it would appear as though Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was right to call out rival GM's from around the National Hockey League in his post trade deadline press conference on Monday for the unprecedented amount of waiver claims coming out of Toronto.
The Leafs have had 11 players claimed off of waivers in recent years, which more than doubles up on the amount of players that most teams lose to the waiver wire. The Leafs' most recent loss was Finnish goaltender Harri Sateri, who the Buds signed out of the KHL on Sunday. Unfortunately, Sateri required re-entry waivers and was subsequently claimed by the Arizona Coyotes.
This was something that came up on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast on Wednesday. During the podcast, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed to Marek and the listeners that as many as 5 teams placed waiver claims on Sateri.
This is a player who, at 32 years old, was available to literally any NHL GM. All they had to do was pick up the phone and call his agent. The one who did was Kyle Dubas. But now, all of a sudden, just because the Leafs want him, there's 5 teams clamoring to see who can nab him on waivers? It just doesn't add up. Sure, perhaps they all had the same concerns about losing the player on re-entry waivers, but as I led off with - where there's smoke, there's fire - and what happened next went a long way in proving my point.
Jeff Marek seemed genuinely surprised at the number of teams that Friedman had suggested put in a waiver claim on Sateri. Marek revealed that he had had conversations with several league executives who stated:
Integrity is an important thing to have. I understand that an NHL franchise is a business and you always want to have a leg up on the competition, but the idea that multiple teams are actively seeking to disrupt what the Leafs are trying to do to fill some gaps in their depth chart even if it doesn't help their own organization seems petty and childish.
I, for one, am glad that Dubas called this behaviour out publicly. Hopefully, even after this, Dubas can maintain the level of integrity he has, but also operate with a bit more of a chip on his shoulder. I'd love to see Dubas drive up the price on more rentals for the competition, or for free agents in the summer. I'd love to see him offer-sheet a restricted free agent or snag a player off waivers that he doesn't necessarily need. I'd love to see him swoop in and trade for a piece that he knows one of his colleagues is desperate to add.
I know, I know. An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind, but in a league like the NHL, where the "old boys club" is very evident, I think Kyle Dubas needs to stop being the nice guy and approach things as if he were a cut-throat businessman. I think we've seen the frustration now. We know that Dubas isn't pleased with his counterparts and how they go about their business. Now that the line has been established as to what is acceptable practice in the NHL, Dubas should go out and beat them at their own game. Just my two cents.
| POLL | ||
23 MARS | 257 ANSWERS Insiders confirm that several teams are maliciously targeting the Leafs with waiver claims What would you like to see Dubas do most this summer? | ||
| Drive the price up on UFA's for his competitors | 102 | 39.7 % |
| Offer sheet someone | 91 | 35.4 % |
| Trade for a piece that he knows some else wants | 64 | 24.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
