Confirmed with Link: Dubas the new GM - TSN

[Legion34]

I think we all picture the GM as the guy walking into negotiations or handling these phone calls personally, but I'm not honestly sure that's the reality of how things work. I'd actually be somewhat surprised if most of the communication with the player agent doesn't happen through the AGMs

Ya honestly i don’t really know how that works... who negotiates the contracts?? Is it the GM or the AGM?

 

[Buds17]

I like it. We started with a plan 3 years ago. Shanny picked him as the gm then, got him mentor ship in lou and now gave him the reigns. This is exactly what is supposed to happen

Honestly I would have wanted lou negotiating the big 3 contracts, but my understanding is pridham is the numbers guy. I hope that works out, but that is all I am nervous of. I get that lou wants to groom his kid now and it makes sense. I just don’t see why we let him go and work for the isles before free agency. It should have been July 15. They will know exactly what we will offer JT. But then again if his kid is the AGM I’m sure they talk anyway......

The funniest part of this thread is the ones who were the biggest draft and development tankers are the ones who didn’t want Dubas hired.

Isn’t that exactly what this is? Find a young talent, draft him into the organization, mentor with hall of gamers and give him the reigns??

Regarding the bolded, and I can't say with much certainty, but I wonder if it's because Lou received a promotion from NYI compared to what role he was filling here (GM) and/or what he was going to be here if he stayed (advisor)? Hunter would be a different case then as he didn't leave for a promotion elsewhere so we could use that proviso.

I don't know how much of a difference Lou as president makes for Tavares re-signing or not.

 

[nobody]

Dubas said one of his best friends in hockey is Pridham. Overall great video, shows what a good guy Dubas really is and how much of an impact he's had on the Marlies.

 

[MyBudJT]

Honest question... Does anyone have a good understanding on the type of hockey Kyle Dubas prefers?

Most GMs have a preferred 'style'.

Some build offensive teams, some build defensive teams, some prefer speed, some prefer size, some prefer skill... etc.

Nashville is known to be a defensive jaugernaught
Pittsburgh has good goaltendering and elite center depth...
Vegas was a deep team that competed hard...
Washington had a decent mix of everything...

Right now, our team is built on Speed and skill... that much is clear... But based on the teams Dubas has 'built' with SSM and the Marlies, does anyone see Dubas sacrificing some of our speed for other aspects of the game?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Honest question... Does anyone have a good understanding on the type of hockey Kyle Dubas prefers?

Most GMs have a preferred 'style'.

Some build offensive teams, some build defensive teams, some prefer speed, some prefer size, some prefer skill... etc.

Nashville is known to be a defensive jaugernaught
Pittsburgh has good goaltendering and elite center depth...
Vegas was a deep team that competed hard...
Washington had a decent mix of everything...

Right now, our team is built on Speed and skill... that much is clear... But based on the teams Dubas has 'built' with SSM and the Marlies, does anyone see Dubas sacrificing some of our speed for other aspects of the game?

I don't think Dubas has a very heavy emphasis on size, although he won't neglect it completely. The prototypical Dubas player seems to be fast, skilled, smart, and intense. Even if they're below 6 feet and 200 pounds, Dubas will love them.

Overall though, he seems to want to use everything at his disposal to fill weak spots and build the best team he can manage. If he sees that our players are too passive, he'll look to improve that. If he thinks we need size, he'll get that. He'll keep noticing areas to improve and use any knowledge at his disposal to find the most efficient way to rectify it, until the team is complete. That's what he did with the Greyhounds and now the Marlies

 

[LeafsNation75]

Not sure if this was brought up yet or not, but there is a great article in the Athletic about Dubas (Built in the Soo: The Kyle Dubas story) and there is a quote from Dubas at a conference in 2015 that stood out to me:

“If your president, general manager, coach, scouts — everybody buys into using what you can gain from statistics and analytics, you’re going to have a lot more success than if you have one person on your staff — alone — saying ‘This is important’ and trying to gather buy-in from everybody else,” Dubas explained at Sloan.

To me, Hunter and Lou are perfect examples of those that wouldn't be apt to buy into the philosophy (as seen in the rumors with DeBrincat, Gourde, Schmidt)... makes even more sense to me as why Hunter would be out of here

Definitely worth the read though, great material on the new GM

So you think if Dubas was the GM in 2016 during that draft they would have selected DeBrincat when they had the first pick of the 2nd round when he was available, because he was who I wanted them to select.

 

[Zizzzzy]

I’ve learned from the main board that leafs are done now. The Winter Hobbit has convinced me anybody that leaves the leafs organization is the next coming of hockey god and anyone who stays with the leafs will fail miserably. I do find the trolls commitment astonishing.

Which is kinda funny because following some of the Islander threads they are ecstatic are getting LL and are already talking about him bringing in Hunter as GM, and Keefe as head coach. Drooling over our "cast offs"

 

[LeafsNation75]

Which is kinda funny because following some of the Islander threads they are ecstatic are getting LL and are already talking about him bringing in Hunter as GM, and Keefe as head coach. Drooling over our "cast offs"

Yet those same people said Hunter wants to become a GM and stick it to the Leafs because Dubas was picked instead. However now they also say Hunter is willing to accept the same jobs he had in Toronto, so all of the sudden he doesn't want to become a GM? I say that since Lou named himself the Islanders GM and never added the phrase interim next to it. That's the definition of hypocrisy.

 

[Joey Hoser]

Honest question... Does anyone have a good understanding on the type of hockey Kyle Dubas prefers?

Most GMs have a preferred 'style'.

Some build offensive teams, some build defensive teams, some prefer speed, some prefer size, some prefer skill... etc.

Nashville is known to be a defensive jaugernaught
Pittsburgh has good goaltendering and elite center depth...
Vegas was a deep team that competed hard...
Washington had a decent mix of everything...

Right now, our team is built on Speed and skill... that much is clear... But based on the teams Dubas has 'built' with SSM and the Marlies, does anyone see Dubas sacrificing some of our speed for other aspects of the game?

I think they only get to choose to some degree. A lot of these examples you gave were put together through happenstance.

Nashville is known to be a defensive jaugernaught They have little choice. Not a lot of game-breaking star power there.
Pittsburgh has good goaltendering and elite center depth... Because they won the Crosby and Fleury lotteries, and got Malkin at #2.
Vegas was a deep team that competed hard... They built their team to have young talent, tons of draft picks, and a couple vets they could sell at the deadline. No master team-building plan there.
Washington had a decent mix of everything... After over a decade of trying everything under the sun. They lost players last summer and couldn't replace them because they didn't have the assets or cap space. They went into this season spinning their wheels, in a worse spot than they had been in awhile. This wasn't even anywhere near their best chance, but hey it's sports and shit happens.

Trying too hard to build a team to fit an ideology is a recipe for making bad decisions, and failing to recognize and make the most of opportunities.

 

[Schooner]

So you think if Dubas was the GM in 2016 during that draft they would have selected DeBrincat when they had the first pick of the 2nd round when he was available, because he was who I wanted them to select.

If the rumors are true about Dubas being high on him at the time absolutely! I get the impression that he isn't going to shy away from a pick due to size and start drafting more smaller skilled players. Of course that is just my speculation but that is the impression I get with how he has built the Marlies

 

[LeafsNation75]

If the rumors are true about Dubas being high on him at the time absolutely! I get the impression that he isn't going to shy away from a pick fue to size and start drafting more smaller skilled players. Of course that is just my speculation but that is the impression I get with how he has built the Marlies

I always thought it was a reach for Hunter to select Korshkov at 31st overall, given that he was undrafted instead of selecting DeBrincat.

 

[Menzinger]

Honest question... Does anyone have a good understanding on the type of hockey Kyle Dubas prefers?

Most GMs have a preferred 'style'.

Some build offensive teams, some build defensive teams, some prefer speed, some prefer size, some prefer skill... etc.

Nashville is known to be a defensive jaugernaught
Pittsburgh has good goaltendering and elite center depth...
Vegas was a deep team that competed hard...
Washington had a decent mix of everything...

Right now, our team is built on Speed and skill... that much is clear... But based on the teams Dubas has 'built' with SSM and the Marlies, does anyone see Dubas sacrificing some of our speed for other aspects of the game?

Likely no.

He seems to like tough players, but also iced a 4th line that was skill centric. I think folks wanting the Leafs to “heavy up” will be disappointed.

 

[cupcrazyman]

Do people actually think Dubas has any authority over Babcock?

 

[Mikeyg]

Do people actually think Dubas has any authority over Babcock?

Considering hes his boss? Yeah...

 

[MR4]

Considering hes his boss? Yeah...

B-b-but Babcock is the greatest thing ever and a 32 year old could never tell a 55 year old what to do!

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Do people actually think Dubas has any authority over Babcock?

what does this mean? Of course Babcock will listen if Dubas offers his input on the direction the team should go. As upper management, Dubas does have sway over the coach

 

[LeafsNation75]

what does this mean? Of course Babcock will listen if Dubas offers his input on the direction the team should go. As upper management, Dubas does have sway over the coach

If it was true that Babcock wanted them to trade for Luke Glendening, Lamoriello didn't care or want to since he traded to Tomas Plekanec instead.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

If it was true that Babcock wanted them to trade for Luke Glendening, Lamoriello didn't care or want to since he traded to Tomas Plekanec instead.

Babcock also badly wanted Hanifin at the draft, but thankfully got overruled. He has quite a bit of influence, but our management including Dubas has authority on the direction the team will go

 

[Mess]

Babcock also badly wanted Hanifin at the draft, but thankfully got overruled. He has quite a bit of influence, but our management including Dubas has authority on the direction the team will go

Maybe now Dubas goes out and gets Babcock's boy Noah Hanifin in trade to appease his coach, as its rumoured Carolina is heavily motivated to make changes.

According to TSN Canes already turned down the Canucks #7OA pick in 2018 for Hanifin so he won't come cheap.

The belief is the Vancouver Canucks offered the No. 7 overall pick in discussions for Carolina defenceman Noah Hanifin . Once you get past No. 6 in this year’s draft, the common refrain is many teams will be willing to trade down. That usually means few teams will be willing to pay a premium to move up that high. Either way, it’s believed Don Waddell and the Hurricanes would prefer to move Justin Faulk before Hanifin. But Waddell isn’t afraid to shake things up.

https://www.tsn.ca/karlsson-tops-first-trade-bait-board-of-the-summer-1.1105074

 

[Gary Nylund]

Maybe now Dubas goes out and gets Babcock's boy Noah Hanifin in trade to appease his coach, as its rumoured Carolina is heavily motivated to make changes.

According to TSN Canes already turned down the Canucks #7OA pick in 2018 for Hanifin so he won't come cheap.

LOL. Why would Babcock need to appeased? He was wrong about Hanifin over Marner, he should already be "appeased" by the fact that they drafted the right player and thanks to that, he has better personnel to work with and is thus that much closer to winning the cup. He should say thanks guys for not listening to me, in the future I promise to shut up, do my job and not interfere with you doing your job.

 

[Marshy]

LOL. Why would Babcock need to appeased? He was wrong about Hanifin over Marner, he should already be "appeased" by the fact that they drafted the right player and thanks to that, he has better personnel to work with and is thus that much closer to winning the cup. He should say thanks guys for not listening to me, in the future I promise to shut up, do my job and not interfere with you doing your job.

 

[kindalaidback]

It's laughable that people still claim that Babcock won't listen to anything Dubas has to say or refuses to work with him because he is that "young guy".

Maple Leafs 'open to anything' at NHL Draft

From the time you were named GM, there has been a lot talk from the outside about you and coach Babcock potentially not being on the same page, whether it's because of a difference in age, philosophies, or just the fact how close to Lamoriello and Hunter he was. How do you respond to that?

"If you know Mike, people have a perception of him and how he operates and how he looks. Yes, he's very confident and sure of himself but he's very sure of himself because he goes out of his way to seek multiple opinions of others. So when he makes a decision or takes an action, it's not just what he wants to do, it's also aided by the opinions and insights of others. That's one of the interesting things. When people see the final product, they don't see the process someone goes through to form their opinion. I was previously on the staff where I saw firsthand him seeking the opinions of others. That's my interaction with him. He wants to have disagreements. He wants to have dissent. It's all to come to the end game of our process. I just laugh and find it comical that people want to spend their time worrying about that instead of getting more info on things that really matter. The proof will come in the team's record as we move forward."

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Maybe now Dubas goes out and gets Babcock's boy Noah Hanifin in trade to appease his coach, as its rumoured Carolina is heavily motivated to make changes.

According to TSN Canes already turned down the Canucks #7OA pick in 2018 for Hanifin so he won't come cheap.

do you really want Dubas to give up huge value for a relatively redundant player to appease Babcock? Our left defense does not need to be addressed whatsoever. Nothing would make me lose faith in Dubas faster than making dumb moves to get on Babcock's good side

 

[Beaninfritz]

LOL. Why would Babcock need to appeased? He was wrong about Hanifin over Marner, he should already be "appeased" by the fact that they drafted the right player and thanks to that, he has better personnel to work with and is thus that much closer to winning the cup. He should say thanks guys for not listening to me, in the future I promise to shut up, do my job and not interfere with you doing your job.

That's a bit harsh. Management wants to know what the coach wants, and will try to facilitate it if it's the best idea moving forward. He was likely asked what the biggest problem was. Obviously our D at the time (and somewhat still to this day) had enough holes that it was borderline swiss cheese. Hanifin was a highly touted pick, and Babcock probably realized that you can't just dump all of the responsibility on Rielly. So his opinion was to get Hanifin. Hunter saw Marner develop, and thought Mitch was the best option. Which you really didn't need Hunter to figure out, since Mitch's mom put up some great highlight videos on youtube. Seriously. Once I saw those clips, I was 100% sold on Marner if the Leafs were in a position to draft him. Fortunately, they did, since Phoenix fell for the "big bodied forward" meme.

Saying Babcock was interfering with their job is just stupid. An organization that works, is an organization that takes input from all levels. If they disagree, that's fine. Asking openly for opinions while engaging in rational discourse is one of the strongest fundamentals of an organization that prospers beyond all others. I don't see management or Babcock crying publicly about differences in opinions.

 

[mapleleaf979]

So you think if Dubas was the GM in 2016 during that draft they would have selected DeBrincat when they had the first pick of the 2nd round when he was available, because he was who I wanted them to select.

I think it could have been Boris Katchouk who Dubas drafted in the 2014 OHL draft. I hoped they had drafted Jordan Kyrou who has outstanding vision and hockey sense.