Kyle Dubas’ future: the Leafs must decide quickly

Last night, the Maple Leafs saw their season come to an end in the first second round, as they lost in five games to the Florida Panthers. Although they made it past the first round for the first time since 2004, it’s still not good enough for a club with Stanley Cup aspirations.

Clearly, then, we can expect some changes in Toronto this summer. On the ice, guys like Auston Matthews and William Nylander could be traded, but in terms of field hockey personnel, things could also change.

Kyle Dubas, for example, is at the end of his contract and his future in Toronto is in serious doubt. That said, the Leafs will have to make a quick decision in this matter for one simple reason: several big decisions will have to be made over the next few weeks, and they’ll need an incumbent GM to make them.

The draft, for example, is six weeks away, so there’s not much time to think.

Will the owners have time to make staff changes with the draft only six weeks away? 😳 https://t.co/m40BNwwmj9

– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 13, 2023

Whatever the decision (to sign him to a new contract or not), it’ll probably have to happen within the next few days. There’s a draft to prepare for and signings to make, and that’s on top of the big transactions that could happen in the next few weeks.

In the case of Matthews, for example, we’ll have to negotiate with him, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll then have to consider the possibility of exchanging him. And since it’s easier to make a big deal like this at the start of the off-season, we need to get the process underway as quickly as possible.

Dubas almost signed a contract extension, but it was blocked by two of the team’s three owners. Will getting past the first round change their minds, or will being eliminated in the second round signal the end of his run in town?

I sincerely think Dubas is a good general manager and that the Leafs should keep him. That said, I’d understand if they wanted to bring a wind of change to the organization following several disappointing years.

The good news is that we should be hearing from him sooner rather than later.

Extension

If Dubas doesn’t return to Toronto, we suspect the Pittsburgh Penguins will be aggressive in luring him back to town. That said, they won’t be the only ones, asanother rumour is that the Senators are interested in having him take Pierre Dorion’s place.

I believe more in the Penguins’ interest, but you never know…