Kyle Dubas almost signed a contract extension with Toronto

Kyle Dubas and the Leafs have made it through the first round of the playoffs. They will face the Panthers in the next round.

But, had the Toronto outfit lost to the Lightning, one might have expected many, many changes. Basically, the odds are that Dubas would have lost his job even though he was able to deliver a competitive team to fans during his tenure.

That said, perhaps things would have been different had one of the organization’s three owners wanted to offer him a contract extension “at some point in the past”.

That’s what Elliotte Friedman told us earlier today in the latest episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast.

The Sportsnet tipster also maintains that it was the other two owners who blocked Dubas’ signing. They seem reluctant to offer big contracts to members of the organization since Mike Babcock was fired and still had $25 million left on his contract.

In the end, Dubas was forced to bet on himself and so far, he seems to be winning his own bet. I have a hard time believing he’ll leave if the Leafs ever get past the second round…

And I’d still be surprised to see him fired even if the team loses to Florida. He’s put together a team that, on paper, has the potential to go all the way if the goalies deliver.

In the end, it won’t be his fault if his club loses to the Panthers, because in reality, there’s not much more he can do. I’m sure he’d like that, scoring goals to help his club win the Stanley Cup…

But it doesn’t work that way.

And, in reality, we know how much the man cares about the team’s success. He’s a passionate guy, and the Leafs need that, considering the market they’re in.

We’ve seen Kyle Dubas’ reaction to every playoff goal
But this one takes the cake
👇🏼

pic.twitter.com/U3JG2bNxQm

– La CLaude Guillet (@Guillet_CLaude) April 30, 2023

In bursts

– Stay tuned.

– Absolutely.

– Josh Bailey’s future in New York is uncertain.

– That’s a good one.

– Good news.