TSN: Brendan Shanahan lays out his side of things how things played out this week on why the Toronto Maple Leafs moved on GM Kyle Dubas.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
“I would say when, after, while watching Kyle’s press, I think at that point there was a shift in my thinking. At that moment, a dramatic shift in my thinking as I drove home that night, that as Kyle expressed, he might not want to be our GM and I have to take that very seriously.
As I had said to him the day before, I understood those feelings, and the pressure, and the pressure that players are under, pressure that management, coaches, family members are under. But it was a very real possibility for me at that point that I would be needing to look somewhere else.
As part of my job, that is what I began to do while still hoping that Kyle and I could come to some sort of a resolution. What I would said then is, in the next few days I didn’t get any more clarity. Tuesday, Wednesday. Tuesday, Kyle and I did not meet privately. On Wednesday we did meet privately and we discussed this again for a long time. I had probably more questions than answers and I did not have clarity.
It further made me feel that there is a strong possibility that, that rightfully, anyone’s right to do so. He might not want to be the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, my focus then again continued toward the path of, “What do we look like next year with a different general manager?”
To Thursday, the next day, Kyle had said that his agent was going to call me and that he would reach out to me as well. I got a call in the afternoon from his agent. Basically, a new financial package was presented to me by the agent. The conversation was brief. I did not hear from Kyle throughout the day.
I went home and just before dinner time I got an email from Kyle saying that he did want to be the GM of the Maple Leafs. At that point I have to, if I am being honest, I was, I had gotten to a different place about how I felt about the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs and what was best. As hard as it was and as hard as it is to make a significant change to somebody that you are close to and have been working with for nine years.
Even though I was presented with, well, a gap had risen within the contract status, but nevertheless, the email that I received from Kyle, I just felt differently. And I felt that the long-term future of the Maple Leafs might have to change.”
Following elimination, both the Leafs and Kyle Dubas seemingly wanted to get a new deal done.
Brendan Shanahan details what changed. pic.twitter.com/Y1J2VFFQNo
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 19, 2023