Dominoes of Dubas Nearly Leaving Leafs for Different GM Job – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

Kyle Dubas’s half-decade as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager from 2018 to 2023 was the defining era of the franchise — one that not every Leafs fan remembers fondly. In a candid conversation on the Cam and Strick podcast, Dubas revealed that he almost left the Leafs organization when he was in the running to be the general manager of the Colorado Avalanche. Ultimately, he decided not to take the job because his mentor, Lou Lamoriello, convinced him to stay.

What might have been?

Dubas was Toronto’s assistant GM at the time and was pursued by Colorado. He said he spoke with Lamoriello and was convinced that Dubas knew the roster of the Leafs from top to bottom — players to the operation of the organization — and that, market size and other things aside, to stay in Toronto was best. “Lou’s view of it to me at the time was like you know everyone here, you know the players, you know the ins and outs of it,” Dubas said. “So, that was a big push for me to remain and do that.”

Dubas Becomes Polarizing Maple Leafs GM

When Lamoriello stepped down in 2018, Dubas was promoted to GM, and that set the stage for a series of deals that would reshape Toronto’s roster. Even though he viewed Lamoriello as a mentor — and still does — Dubas quickly made the Leafs his team.

Dubas made a couple of smaller moves, but his first big splash came on July 1, 2018, when he signed John Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million contract. Tavares was the shiny win of that offseason, coming over from the New York Islanders and leaving an angry fan base behind to join his hometown dream team. The issue for many was what Dubas paid to get him when it arguably wasn’t needed.

As good as Tavares was, his contract set a high benchmark for other star forwards like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner, contributing to the team’s salary cap struggles. Many felt the signing was unnecessary—especially since Nazem Kadri was already filling the second-line center role effectively. Kadri was eventually traded in 2019, in a deal that turned out to be a premature move and a big loss for the organization.