Leafs captain John Tavares publicly comments for the first time on the Dubas firing, Treliving hiring

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Ryan Smitheram
July 14, 2023 (1:27 PM)

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A year after failing to land Steven Stamkos when he hit free agency, Kyle Dubas swung for the fences again in 2018, this time as the Leafs' General Manager. On July 1st, 2018, Dubas, along with other members of Leafs management, convinced John Tavares signed a 7-year, $77M deal to come home to Toronto. It was a landmark deal for the Leafs and Tavares, not just because of the term and money involved, but in the fact that it showed that players from the area do want to play in Toronto.

Yesterday, while attending Mitch Marner's annual Marner Assist Foundation event, Tavares touched on the changes made by Brendan Shanahan when he let Kyle Dubas go and hired Brad Treliving.

"You're always surprised. You guys know the impact Kyle has made on me & the role he played when I was a free agent & convincing me why this opportunity was the right one ... we understand that's the business of the game and things happen," said Tavares of Dubas' firing. Tavares also spoke highly of Treliving and what he has done since he took over.

"When Tre came in, very level-headed, had a tremendous approach & communicated very well to everyone that's here that he wants to continue to help push us forward & believes that the group is really strong & we've done some really good things." - Tavares on the transition from Dubas to Treliving

Tavares appears to be on board with Treliving's vision and direction he wants to take the team, and the moves he has made so far, which is a good sign. Now, he just needs to help convince William Nylander to get off of his high-horse and sign for market value so that Auston Matthews will put pen to paper as well.

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