New theory emerges on why Shanahan actually decided to replace Dubas in Toronto
When Brendan Shanahan sat down and explained his reasoning for firing Kyle Dubas, his story didn't make a lot of sense. A guy who has been extremely process driven for 9 years suddenly changing his opinion of his GM after simply being presented with a different contract proposal just thirty six hours after presenting Dubas with a new contract offer? That doesn't track. He made it clear it was not Dubas' performance, nor was it Dubas' need to make sure his family was okay with him continuing to hold the position. The Leafs are the second richest team in the league, so it wasn't the money. The decision process just seemed too rash and out of character for Shanahan.
A few days later, Elliotte Friedman revealed that Dubas was also seeking more autonomy in his revised proposal. He wanted the ability to do his job without Shanahan and the MLSE board slowing things down. There were moves that Dubas felt needed to be made and they needed to be made quickly or the opportunity would be lost. This is believed to have occurred on a number of occasions.
Here's the thing, the Leafs' season just ended, it's only May. They have nothing but time to make moves. The only deadline that is looming right now is July 1st. On that day, Matthews and Marner receive full no-movement clauses, and William Nylander gets to submit a 10 team no trade list. Since trading Matthews is an absolute no go, it's clear that Dubas wanted the freedom to move either Marner or Nylander before July 1st. The theory I wanted to propose here is that Shanahan refused to allow it, which ultimately led to Dubas seeking more control over team decision-making.
There is evidence to support the theory. The strongest being Dubas and Shanahan's own words at their respective end of season press conferences.
"I will consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup. I would take nothing off the table at all." - Kyle Dubas on locker cleanout day
"Just being different doesn't solve something." - Brendan Shanahan after firing Kyle Dubas
"We will not be making changes just simply for the sake of saying we made changes."
- Brendan Shanahan after the Leafs first round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022"If you look throughout the history of hockey, there are lots of players who are in the Hall of Fame or who have their names etched on the Stanley Cup multiple times who went through this same experience early in their careers with their teams
The teams that were wise enough to hang on them - to continue to surround them and develop them, and just keep trying and trying and getting better and improving - benefitted eventually."
- Brendan Shanahan after the Leafs first round loss to Montreal in 2021The teams that were wise enough to hang on them - to continue to surround them and develop them, and just keep trying and trying and getting better and improving - benefitted eventually."
When you read these quotes, there's a stark contrast between the former GM and the President of the team. Clearly Shanahan has been and continues to be against moving any member of the Leafs' core. In fact, after firing Dubas, he called each of them to personally break the news. According to Chris Johnston, the players came away confident that they would be back wearing the blue and white next season. A source, who shall remain anonymous, inside another organization, has also let us in on the fact that Dubas has fielded offers on William Nylander in the past, gauging interest mid-season in 2021-22 in case team lost in the first round of the playoffs again, which they did to Tampa in 7 games.
It's also been reported that Shanahan and Dubas' relationship had become a little more tumultuous over the past season. I believe this difference in opinion is why. With that knowledge, and the fact that Dubas wanted more decision-making power combined with the conclusions that can be drawn from Dubas and Shanahan's own words, the picture becomes clearer. I believe that Dubas wanted the autonomy to make a franchise-altering move by trading one of Marner or Nylander. Shanahan disagreed, insisted on keeping the core together and fired Dubas for not wanting to follow his mandate.
| POLL | ||
MAI 26 | 943 ANSWERS New theory emerges on why Shanahan actually decided to replace Dubas in Toronto Do you think that Dubas was actually let go because of a disagreement on how to handle the core? | ||
| Yes | 472 | 50.1 % |
| No | 130 | 13.8 % |
| There are likely multiple reasons | 341 | 36.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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