Fans from other markets, and to an extent, even some lesser-informed Leafs fans, love to complain about the Leafs' salary cap situation. Whether the criticism is warranted or not is an argument that is seen daily on social media, with some fans believing that Dubas overpays his players, while others look around the NHL and realize that a stagnant salary cap has put nearly half the league over the allowed amount. The truth is, teams that want to contend are going to be tight to the cap. Every last one of them, with the exception of the odd overachieving outlier.
The Leafs got absolutely hung out to dry by the C19 pandemic. The salary cap was not supposed to stay flat, and deals that looked steep when they were signed should be looking like steals by now had the pandemic not hit. The timing could not have been worse for the Leafs. They extended the 2 best players they've had since Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny to huge money deals because the cap was supposed to jump. Incredibly, even though the circumstances surrounding the signings could not have been worse, Dubas and the Leafs still managed to avoid The Athletic's top 10 worst contracts in the NHL list.
Three Atlantic Division teams did manage to make the list. Steve Yzerman and the Detroit Red Wings have the 10th worst, the ink hasn't even dried on Ben Chiarot's new 4x4.8M deal. According to The Athletic's model, Detroit overpaid by a whopping $16.2 million. At number 9, the Montreal Canadiens with Nick Suzuki's hefty 8x7.9M deal, an overpayment of $22.3 million per the model. Worst in the Atlantic, and 3rd worst in the league is Jeff Skinner's deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Skinner is banking $9.5 million per season for the next 5 years. Dom Luszczyszyn's model has that contract paying a massive $35.1M over that time.
The moral of the story here is that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Is Dubas a perfect GM? No, but the truth is he's built the Leafs into a top end team, and despite the salary cap challenges brought on by the pandemic, he's still managed to sign more good contracts than bad. Maybe we as Leafs fans need to cut Dubas a little more slack considering he's easily the best GM the Leafs have had since the late, great Pat Quinn.
