The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Kyle Dubas would not be returning next year as general manager
It was first reported by both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Chris Johnston of TSN and Star Sports.
Dubas’s contract was set to expire on June 30th and the club decided to part ways with him.
In a statement released by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brendan Shanahan, President and Alternate Governor said:
“I would like to thank Kyle for his unwavering dedication over these last nine seasons with the organization, including his last five as General Manager. Kyle fostered a great culture within our dressing room and staff, and consistently pushed to make our team better season over season. We wish Kyle and his family the best moving forward and thank him for his valuable contributions.”
The Maple Leafs also announced that Shanahan will be holding a press cofnerence at 3 pm on Friday afternoon.
Dubas spent the last five seasons as the Maple Leafs general manager. The best result came this year when the Maple Leafs made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before losing to the Florida Panthers in five games.
During that time he signed John Tavares, signed Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Reilly to new deals.
Had his best trade deadline as a general manager as he went all in acquiring Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, Luke Schenn, and Erik Gustafsson.
But again, the Maple Leafs came up short.
Earlier in the week it had been reported by Friedman of Sportsnet that Dubas was offered a new contract extension after the success of the first round. Friedman also noted that prior to this season, the Maple Leafs were unsure they would bring Dubas back.
It was an emotional week for Kyle Dubas. In his end-of-season press conference on Monday, he still was uncertain of his future and wanted to take time with his family and talk with Shanahan about what is next.
David Alter of SI.com: Dubas will GM of the Maple Leafs or nothing.
With Dubas out, the focus will turn to hiring the next general manager and from there, re-signing Auston Matthews.