Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking Kyle Dubas Top 5 Moves as Leafs GM

No. 1: The John Tavares Signing 

In the biggest free agency signing of the salary cap era, the Mississauga, Ontario native, who following the announcement tweeted a picture of him wearing the Blue and White pyjamas, decided to take his talents to his childhood team. Kyle Dubas managed to ink John Tavares to a 7-year, $77 million contract on July 1st, 2018.

Dubas was able to lure the former Islanders captain away from other franchises who were offering significantly more money than the Leafs were able to. The San Jose Sharks, for example, were ready to make Tavares the highest-paid player in the league, offering him $14 million AAV on his long-term deal.

To say Kyle hit a home run on the Tavares signing would be an understatement. In his first season with the Leafs, Tavares was one of the most dominant players in the entire NHL. Scoring 47 goals and 88 points (stats; NHL.com), Tavares registered the 11th best goals above replacement of 19.5 (stats; evolving-hockey.com).

To put Tavares’ 2018-19 in perspective, Nathan MacKinnon, the runner-up for the Hart Trophy this year – and probably should have won the trophy – registered a goals above replacement of 19.8, 0.3 above Tavares’.

Not only did the center himself have a career year, but his partner in crime Mitch Marner also had a career year himself as a direct result of Tavares’ play. Marner finished the season with 26 goals and 94 points, 11th in the NHL (stats; NHL.com), allowing the 23-year-old to cash in on his next contract this past offseason. Furthermore, the trio of Zach Hyman, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner finished that season with the highest expected goals for rating among all NHL forward lines.

On the night of the first game of the 2019-20 season, when the leaders of the team were held until last during the unveiling of the Leafs opening night lineup, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews skated on to the ice, wearing a crested “A” across their jersey. Soon after, Tavares was announced in front of a sold-out Scotiabank Arena as the 25th captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the fit could not be more perfect.

Last offseason, when the Leafs were faced with a lot of roster turnover, it was Tavares, before the captaincy, who was the one to welcome all the new faces. Tavares texted Alex Kerfoot immediately following the trade and organized a dinner with him and Tyson Barrie soon after the former Avs landed in Toronto.

It is those little things that make Tavares such a fantastic leader. He plays the game the right way and comes prepared every night for 82 games. Kyle Dubas’ best move as Leafs GM has to be one of the best moves any GM has made over the past several seasons.

Having only been around for two seasons now, Dubas has done a lot. Facing one of the most critical offseasons the Toronto Maple Leafs have had in a long time, it is safe to say the fate of the franchise in the right hands.