Popular Leafs public figure tips his cap to Kyle Dubas and Maple Leafs' scouting department
No one in Toronto has received as much scrutiny, disdain, and hateful retorts than the architect of the Toronto Maple Leafs over the last several years. Kyle Dubas was thrust into the general manager role - some believe way too early - in the spring of 2018 and along the way, the Toronto Maple Leafs have still not yet reached the promised land that is the second round and beyond.
Through all the trades, free agent signings and extensions, Dubas has been at the forefront of everything and finally - now that the Leafs are playing like the well-oiled machine that everyone had hoped for - he is getting the praise that he deserves.
All their success despite all the injuries that have taken place on the backend hasn't gone unnoticed for most of Leafs Nation, especially legendary play-caller, Joe Bowen. Appearing on Leafs Lunch, the broadcasting voice of the Maple Leafs, tipped his hat to the Leafs' management and scouting department for being able to find the right depth pieces - whether it was internal or external - that has kept them, not only afloat, but sitting at the top of the standings.
Any team with the amount of injuries, especially considering the calibre of players missing, would be struggling. However the Leafs have found a way to alleviate the mess with internal options like Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren stepping up in a top-4 role, Justin Holl and Mark Giordano playing over 20+ minutes a game, and then finding external pieces like Conor Timmins, who for the short while, is playing some inspiring and spirited hockey.
Bowen made mention that it's the attention to detail defensively that separates this Maple Leafs from their past counterparts. They have bought into the system, they are working harder than ever before on the back-end, and that is being compounded with timely goal scoring and fantastic goaltending. As he put it "defense wins championships - no matter the sport".
Also not lost in the sauce was the fact that the Maple Leafs had to deal with injuries to both of the goaltenders to start the season and have remained near the top of the NHL in team save percentage with the New York Islanders and Boston Bruins, who have not had to use a third string goaltender.
The common theme is that the Maple Leafs front office didn't panic, they made the appropriate adjustments, found the right depth pieces, and have formulated the perfect recipe for success. 12-0-3 in their last 15 games is no fluke and that stretches even further to a 15-1-4 record since a bumpy 4-4-2 start to the year.
Dubas and the Leafs scouts have tracked down the likes of Pontus Holmberg, Mac Hollowell, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Nick Robertson, Nick Abruzzese, Filip Kral and the aforementioned Rasmus Sandin in his first couple of drafts as GM and his past 3 drafts have yielded a high volume of intriguing prospects that have not yet seen NHL ice, though some seem destined to do just that, such as NCAA standout Matthew Knies.
The Leafs' GM is still without a contract past this season, so perhaps the big wigs over at MLSE may want to break out their check book before Dubas is eligible to meet with other teams this summer where the highest bidder could very well swoop in and nab him from the organization.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 14 | 399 ANSWERS Popular Leafs public figure tips his cap to Kyle Dubas and Maple Leafs' scouting department Do you think the Leafs should extend Kyle Dubas? | ||
| Yes, he's done an incredible job | 341 | 85.5 % |
| No, it's time for a new voice | 58 | 14.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
