MLSE's confidence in Kyle Dubas may be wavering; no extension in place for the Leafs GM in the final year of his deal
There's really no question about it, the Toronto Maple Leafs are about to enter a pivotal season - and the same can be said for GM Kyle Dubas. Dubas is set to enter his 5th year as the team's general manager, which, surprisingly enough, makes him the longest tenured GM of the team in the last 25 years.
The Leafs have reached the point where a successful regular season simply isn't enough anymore. The Buds finished 4th overall in the league's standings last season, but the result in round one was still the same. Should history repeat itself in 2022-23, Dubas could be out of a job.
Now, this piece is not an indictment on Dubas. The current first mate to Brendan Shanahan's captain of the ship has proven time and time again to be a valuable piece for the Leafs and an outside-the-box thinker. He's seemed to excel at finding underrated and undervalued talent, dating back to June of 2015, when a young Dubas plucked a diamond in the rough out of Florida in Zach Hyman. His smart bets and diligent work on the draft floor has also provided the Leafs with a bevy of intriguing prospects, some of whom are nearing the point of being ready to make real NHL contributions (Knies, Robertson, Hirvonen) and some who already have (Sandin, Durzi).
Dubas is entering the final year of his contract and the fact that he has not yet been extended should tell us a lot about what's riding on this season, which appears to be everything at this point. If the Leafs falter in the first round yet again, the writing is probably on the wall for Kyle Dubas in Toronto. Conversely, even if they do win, Dubas could decide that it's time to walk away and, as The Athletic's Jonas Siegel points out in his article below, Dubas would likely have no problem whatsoever in finding a GM job in the NHL not long after.
Now, do I think Dubas would walk away from everything he's built thus far in Toronto? I don't, but that doesn't mean that his job is save either. If MLSE had as much faith in Dubas as his biggest detractors seem to think they do, he'd already be extended. The fact that he hasn't been extended yet should give us a glimpse into the mindset of one of the top ownership groups in the National Hockey League. Dubas may be on thin ice right now. This team needs a win and it needs one in the postseason, otherwise, we could see Shanahan, Dubas, Keefe and perhaps 1 or 2 of the team's core 4 on the move next summer.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 19 | 357 ANSWERS MLSE's confidence in Kyle Dubas may be wavering; no extension in place for the Leafs GM in the final year of his deal Is this the final year of Kyle Dubas at the helm in Toronto? | ||
| If they don't win when it matters, yes | 187 | 52.4 % |
| No, he'll be extended this year | 100 | 28 % |
| If they walk away from him, it's a mistake | 58 | 16.2 % |
| If he walks away on his own, it's a mistake | 12 | 3.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
