Kyle Dubas publicly calls out Hawks GM Kyle Davidson over Fleury to Toronto negotiations
Well, the trade deadline has come and gone and for some teams, there was cause for celebration. For others, there was cause for concern. I think you could comfortably place the Leafs somewhere in the middle, as they did make a few important moves, but also failed to address a need in goal.
The biggest concern for the Leafs for much of the season was on the blueline, and the Buds certainly addressed those needs with the acquisitions of Ilya Lyubushkin, who has fit in very well alongside Morgan Rielly, but also Seattle Kraken captain Mark Giordano.
There's no denying that Giordano is a SUBSTANTIAL upgrade over Travis Dermott, who was moved out in a separate trade with the Vancouver Canucks. From a leadership perspective and from an overall skill, poise and experience perspective as well.
As the 3pm ET trade deadline was nearing, Leafs fans were sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting that one final move. When the news came out that Kyle Dubas would be meeting with the media to discuss the Leafs' deadline shortly after 3pm, it became abundantly clear that the one final move that Leafs Nation was expecting was not coming.
During his media availability, Dubas addressed a wide range of subjects. Everything from Jack Campbell and Petr Mrazek to NCAA free agents, to Blackwell and Giordano and everything in between. There was one portion of his availability, however, when some tension arose.
On the subject of a potential trade that Dubas had reportedly shut down involving Marc-Andre Fleury and Brandon Hagel, the Leafs' GM took a bit of a different tone, clearly audibly frustrated, calling Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson out publicly for the details of their trade negotiations going public. Davidson was made aware of the comments and has plans to address the matter privately with Dubas.
-Kyle Davidson on Kyle Dubas' snippy comments about the Fleury-Toronto leak.
In addition, Dubas also made comments about how Finnish goaltender Harri Sateri was plucked off of waivers on Monday by the Arizona Coyotes, emphasizing that so many more players are claimed when waived by the Leafs than in any other city in the league. No, that's not an exaggeration, it is very factual.
Dubas took the opportunity to throw out a sarcastic comment to agents who may have been watching the press conference that if they have any clients who are looking for a new home, Toronto can be their hook up, via the waiver wire.
I'm surprised nobody asked Kyle why he was so pissy.
| POLL | ||
MARS 21 | 670 ANSWERS Kyle Dubas publicly calls out Hawks GM Kyle Davidson over Fleury to Toronto negotiations Will the Leafs' goaltending hold up in the playoffs? | ||
| Nope, another early exit upcoming | 305 | 45.5 % |
| I hope so | 137 | 20.4 % |
| Jack Campbell will figure it out | 196 | 29.3 % |
| Kallgren SZN! | 32 | 4.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
