I think Dubas is trigger happy to fire Babcock and replace him with is boy Sheldon Keefe ASAP. IMO
This might not be a bad thing for Babcock as his salary is guaranteed and once gone Leafs will still be paying him $6.25 mil for another 4-5 years.
Once Dubas gets Marner signed to his +$10 mil deal, this team is going to be in serious cap concerns, with soooo much invested in sooo few that the competitiveness of the Leafs team will be severely tested. When AM + MM take up > $20 mil cap instead o < $2 mil that impact on the rest of the team around them will be weakened.
Seeing teams built like the Leafs in TB and Pitts built on offense getting swept in the 1st round, suggests the road the Leafs are currently on is full of pitfalls and dangers.
The margin for coaching error will be razor thin as a result it might be a 50/50 coin flip playoffs or not next year proposition, so it would be interesting to witness what a Dubas + Keefe duo guiding the team with very little NHL experience would result in.
If the Leafs make a coaching change and miss the playoffs next season, there will be a world of second guessing any fire Babcock now support. In fact a fire Dubas by MLSE ownership might be loudest voice among them all, as they continue to pay Babs his $6.3 mil annual salary and lose playoff revenue in the process.