Dubas appreciation thread

[Mats13]

Don’t know how anyone can not love the work Dubas has been doing

He knows you have to go for it at some point. Can’t just keep building for next year like Winnipeg lmao

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Don’t know how anyone can not love the work Dubas has been doing

He knows you have to go for it at some point. Can’t just keep building for next year like Winnipeg lmao

Winnipeg is the perfect example of lack of aggression costing your team a chance at a cup. Glaring need for 2 top 4 D, they don't even land one because they're so married to their picks and prospects.

 

[Antropovsky]

Don’t know how anyone can not love the work Dubas has been doing

He knows you have to go for it at some point. Can’t just keep building for next year like Winnipeg lmao

Winnipeg went all in a couple years in a row .... problem is nobody wants to stay Winnipeg. It has to be difficult being Chevy.. being a destination nobody wants. Good thing they have drafted great.

 

[Smif]

playoff experience.. everyone is saying that ...
foligno has never shined in the playoffs. everyone remembers him for 1 good series against the leafs . who cares. the guy has like 2 non empty net goals in his last 5 or 6 playoff series. (last 4 years)..,,

this team would be alot better with grandlund and laughton. than just 1 foligno.

Neither of those players were moved so you can assume they weren't available for trade.

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Bring a lot of coffee to the draft. A LOT.
They are going to need it.

As for Dubas, i have to praise him. It would seem he finally recognizes the need for sandpaper and leadership to gel with a talented roster and he has been delivering, slowly but surely. As for this TDL:
We needed a gritty experienced forward, check.
We needed a backup goalie, check.
We (sorda) needed some defensive depth, check. Is this Marincin´s swan song? Hope so.

The roster is looking better today than a few days ago. No glaring weaknesses, and alround solid choices for Keefe to work with. Dubas did his job well and gifted the team more tools to succeed.
It´s up to the coach and the boys on the ice to deliver the goods. This is the best chance we have had in decades. Make it count and make us proud!

I don't get people who keep saying this. He has only been running the show for 2+ years, during which he's had to navigate several mega deals, shed bad Lou contracts, revamp the non-existant d-corps, rebuild the prospect pool, had two pandemic shortened seasons and a flat cap.....how fast do people expect him to do all these things?

 

[Mats13]

Don’t know how anyone can not love the work Dubas has been doing

He knows you have to go for it at some point. Can’t just keep building for next year like Winnipeg lmao

 

[Martin Skoula]

I don't get people who keep saying this. He has only been running the show for 2+ years, during which he's had to navigate several mega deals, shed bad Lou contracts, revamp the non-existant d-corps, rebuild the prospect pool, had two pandemic shortened seasons and a flat cap.....how fast do people expect him to do all these things?

Especially when he says he's going to trade for grit on day one and people act like he just figured out grit 24 hours ago.

 

[Leafsfan74]

He checked off all of the boxes and somehow under Cap issues even before the season started, he built a Cup threatening team.

Depth at goal and D is a stress reducing reality now. Nash was an astute, maybe even vital pickup that was sneakily pulled off. That alone may pay huge dividends when the Leafs face top lines, especially on the road when the opposition has last change.

No excuses now for this team. They possess piles of leadership and compete, they have great chemistry and purpose. They have to continue to get it done.

Dubas did his part to reward the team for doing theirs during the regular season. They will soon need to perform in the postseason.

 

[Cobra777]

As a hockey fan like most who enjoy trades and acquisitions as part of the excitement of the sport, Dubas sure has made things the most exciting in his tenure thus far always in on acquiring players, never being afraid of pulling the trigger and has with his management done some smart moves which is hard in a covid cap situation. Hats off to him as he has also adapted from just skill to also add snarl to this team.

 

[Mentat]

I don't get people who keep saying this. He has only been running the show for 2+ years, during which he's had to navigate several mega deals, shed bad Lou contracts, revamp the non-existant d-corps, rebuild the prospect pool, had two pandemic shortened seasons and a flat cap.....how fast do people expect him to do all these things?

Agreed but up to this offseason it did seem that grit and veterancy where not his shopping list. And i think that is a fair assessment, even with all those facts you rightfully mentioned.
He has adressed our needs in a thorough fashion this year. He deserves credit and recognition for that.

 

[leburn98]

At least on paper, this is easily the deepest Leafs team I've seen during my 30+ years of watching the team.

 

[Mickey Marner]

This is the best deadline the Leafs have had since the Quinn years. Quite pleased with it.

 

[Menzinger]

The front office managed to add every piece on their checklist without giving up any prospects or roster players.

Pretty savey manouvering considering the supposed cap constraints

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

Agreed but up to this offseason it did seem that grit and veterancy where not his shopping list. And i think that is a fair assessment, even with all those facts you rightfully mentioned.
He has adressed our needs in a thorough fashion this year. He deserves credit and recognition for that.

I think the problem with that thinking is that he knows that "grit" and "leadership" are the cheapest and easiest pieces to add. You do that at the end when you have the tough pieces. Otherwise you are doing it ass backwards. You end up with no money to pay the important pieces. Lou's philosophy is a perfect example of this. Paying $6 M + for "leadership" before you have a solid foundation. Or the multiple overpaid vets/grit he has in NYI. Now someone will argue it's working in NYI but the two problems are that is largely a function of coaching but it is also very short sighted management. As the GM you never know when the core pieces you need will become available. When they do, you need to be in position to pounce. By overpaying those guys early, you have nothing left to assemble the long term core. Imagine having a team without a single signed star and being in cap hell. If not for a retirement, you can't sign your one star. Even then, you can only sign him to a few years. To win you need some game breakers. By doing it Dubas' way, you have a very strong core with lots of game breaking talent and then get a whole bunch of "grit/leadership" for pennies on the dollar. We're paying $4.2 M for Spezza, Foligno, Thornton and Simmonds. That's barely more than Clutterbuck or Komarov make.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

Dubas had a good trade deadline. Depth at each position. Nothing mind-boggling, but such depth is important in the playoffs. Losing a 1st for mere depth hurts... but pickings were slim.

I'll give an A-.

 

[Jojalu]

well yeah ... the exact same price ... lol
i would table that a top 4 dman is worth more than and 3rd line winger and yet the price was identical.

its overpayment however you slice it ... adding the argument about eating cap still doesnt justify it when the player is really overpaid compared to his cap. in reality it makes it worse because hen a player is overpaid usually the compensation is less because of the cap implications.

Once Nashville got back in the playoff picture, Granlund wass never moving. Laughton wanted to stay in Philly and was not moving.

Just because Dubas may have wanted someone doesn't make them available. That's how you seriously overpay for someone.

 

[ShaneFalco]

im glad i need to keep repeating myself ..
foligno is FINE hes a good pickup but not worth that price .... in reality we picked up a checking 3rd liner for a first round pick which bad asset management.

how could would a 2 player upgrade at that price feel like ?
and yes there is more to hockey than scoring goals, but not for the assets we shipped back ... you should be getting an IMPACT player at that price. Foligno is not an impact player

You really have no,idea what you're talking about
And no need to repeat yourself...please

 

[Dough72]

not necessarily a bad thing but he has been quite the old-school gm since he took over, trading away multiple 1st rounders and signing Tavares into his mid 30s. Plus he has shown an increasing fondness for truculence it would be quite the plot twist if the whiz kid with the non-prescription glasses slowly morphed into a modern age Brian Burke (insert mind-blown gif)

 

[Dough72]

By doing it Dubas' way, you have a very strong core with lots of game breaking talent and then get a whole bunch of "grit/leadership" for pennies on the dollar. We're paying $4.2 M for Spezza, Foligno, Thornton and Simmonds. That's barely more than Clutterbuck or Komarov make.

hope that's the plan but curious why he didn't do this immediately because his early roster/s were missing those elements badly and he instead surrounded his stars with 1 dimensional softies who were almost indiscernible from each other. Wonder if the playoff losses made him a believer in that stuff, or possibly Shanahan or other Leafs personnel did. But I have not seen a pro gm do a philosophical 180 like that before, maybe a sign of a young gm still being a work in progress

 

[zeke]

hope that's the plan but curious why he didn't do this immediately because his early roster/s were missing those elements badly and he instead surrounded his stars with 1 dimensional softies

His first adds were Tavares and Muzzin.

 

[zeke]

hope that's the plan but curious why he didn't do this immediately because his early roster/s were missing those elements badly and he instead surrounded his stars with 1 dimensional softies who were almost indiscernible from each other.

Year 1 changes:

OUT: Polak, Carrick, Borgman
IN: Muzzin, Holl, Ozhiganov

OUT: VanRiemsdyk, Bozak, Plekanec, Komarov, Moore
IN: Tavares, Ennis, Lindholm, Gauthier, Leivo

 

[Menzinger]

He also added Clifford just last season

 

[ShaneFalco]

Year 1 changes:

OUT: Polak, Carrick, Borgman
IN: Muzzin, Holl, Ozhiganov

OUT: VanRiemsdyk, Bozak, Plekanec, Komarov, Moore
IN: Tavares, Ennis, Lindholm, Gauthier, Leivo

yeah that whole "softy" thing is just false

 

[Gary Nylund]

yeah that whole "softy" thing is just false

Some narratives never die it seems.

 

[freshwind]

His first adds were Tavares and Muzzin.

one might argue hyman was his first acquisition