Polarizing figure in Toronto believes that Kyle Dubas was an incompetent general manager
Now that a few days have passed since the dismissal of former general manager, Kyle Dubas, it's part of the job to now discuss, dissect, and debate on whether or not he was a capable executive and look at which decisions he made that were a catalyst to him being relieved of his duties.
The playoff disappointments played their part, the alleged reports of him asking for too much money and more autonomy had a hand, but it all points back to the Core-4 members and how their lack of ability, finish, and composure on the biggest stage when the lights were their brightest was his true demise.
Sid Seixeiro has been a prominent member of the sports media in Toronto for quite some time and he had his own segment before moving to breakfast television. As an avid fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs and aided by his platform, he has had some brash and loud takes over the last few years - especially during this time of year. On Sunday, he took to Twitter and outlined why he believed Dubas deserved to be fired:
1. Paid a guy 11 million a year to play centre who can no longer play centre.
2. Gave Marner 10.9 million a year when Toronto had all the leverage.
3. Paid Matthews top dollar without getting an 8 year commitment.
Please stop telling me he's a great GM."
There are layers to these points but he's also not entirely wrong. When Dubas signed John Tavares to his mammoth deal, the league's salary cap was supposed to spike to upwards of $95 million in just a few more years, which would've made that contract a lot more palatable. Instead the pandemic hit and the flat cap reigned supreme at $81.5 million. Now the Tavares contract might be the worst of the bunch and is also immovable since he holds all the cards with his NMC.
When it came to his 2 superstar RFAs, it just seemed like something was missing. I'm not entirely sure how Auston Matthews essentially got himself a blank cheque that led him directly to unrestricted free agency coming out of his ELC. The $11.6 million cap hit is high but if it was spread across 8 years instead of the allotted 5, it wouldn't have been nearly as problematic and would have easier for the fanbase to accept. Matthews has been spectacular during the regular season and has played his way to another big money deal but that 5-year term will forever be a mystery.
When it comes to Mitch Marner, that entire saga was just a circus, and it ultimately left both sides wounded before the season even began. His $10.9M AAV is relatively high - once again coming out of his ELC - but at the end of the day it was probably a million or so more than what he should've gotten in hindsight. In saying that, Marner has been one of the league's best point producers since he burst onto the stage but his reputation took a hit.
The flat-cap did a number on the entire league and the Maple Leafs somehow survived and contended even with an $81.5 million cap roll. Dubas did a good job at trying to finding the right depth pieces at the right cost to surround his core members, however their inability to get over the hump in his 5 years at the helm will forever be a blemish on his career, whether warranted or not.
| POLL | ||
MAI 22 | 1168 ANSWERS Polarizing figure in Toronto believes that Kyle Dubas was an incompetent general manager What did you make of Sid Seixeiro's comments on why the Leafs ACTUALLY walked away from Kyle Dubas? | ||
| He's right | 603 | 51.6 % |
| There's way more to it than just that | 453 | 38.8 % |
| He's flat out wrong | 112 | 9.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
