The Toronto Maple Leafs have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the players along with head coach Sheldon Keefe and general manager Kyle Dubas met with the media on Monday.
There are a lot of questions surrounding the future of the makeup of this team starting at the top with Dubas.
With the season coming to an end so too does his contract with the Maple Leafs. Dubas has not signed an extension but spoke with the media saying he is responsible for whether the team succeeds or not.
With Dubas set to become a free agent or is he, the Leafs GM is currently linked to several teams around the league including the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Penguins GM Search Includes Kyle Dubas
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kingerski writes that Dubas should be the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins because of what he did with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dubas was aggressive when he needed to be and did what was necessary with his job on the line acquiring players like Ryan O’Reilly, Luke Schenn, Noel Acciari, and Jake McCabe. Though he did not get to the finish line.
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The Penguins roster needs a retool as it has become old and slow. Bringing the band back together did not work out as planned. Dubas has shown to be a cap wizard, aggressive on the NHL trade block, and appreciative of analytics (though not deferential to them).
As Kingerski points out there are other candidates, but Dubas has shown he can evolve and is a master manipulator of the salary.
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts Podcast: “I think Pittsburgh wants to get this done, so if this whole Dubas and Pittsburgh thing is real then he’s going to need to know quick if what is on the table for Toronto is amenable to him”.
Except Kyle Dubas Wants To Stay in Toronto
Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts Podcast: Friedman stated that since the Toronto Maple Leafs won a first-round playoff series for the first time in 18 years that ownership was willing to talk about an extension.
As Friedman noted prior to that MLSE did not offer a contract extension during the season. Dubas was able to change their tune on him. Like most things working on the length and compensation will be the sticking point.
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Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic: LeBrun tweeted that Kyle Dubas says he is not interested in another GM position around the league. He will either stay in Toronto as GM or will take time away to recalibrate. Says it has been tough on his family and needs to think about that.
So you can take the Pittsburgh Penguins job off the list as Dubas will not be interviewing for any general manager jobs as he does not want to put his family through that.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet: Dubas will speak with ownership, Brendan Shanahan, and his family in the coming days.
Matt Larkin of Daily Faceoff: Dubas on his future:
“It requires me to have a full family discussion,” Dubas said when discussing what he plans to do should the Leafs decide they want him back. “My family is a hugely important part of what I do. So for me to commit to anything without having a fuller understanding of what this year took on them, it’s probably unfair for me to answer where I’m at. I wish I could give you more. But we haven’t been able to have those full discussions yet. It was a very hard year on them. And it’s tough. What I would say is that I definitely don’t have it in me to go anywhere else. So it will either be here, or taking time to recalibrate, reflect on the seasons here. But you won’t see me next week pop up elsewhere. I can’t put them through that after this year.”
If Dubas were to return he would get the endorsement of the players, especially Morgan Reilly
David Alter of SI.com: Morgan Reilly of Leafs GM Kyle Dubas: “I think the world of Kyle. He’s a world-class GM. Everything he did was in the team’s best interest.”