The Toronto Maple Leafs are a top-five team in the NHL once again, so should the Toronto Maple Leafs extend their lame-duck general manager?
As it currently stands, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is without a contract for the 2023-24 season, which could be an issue. When you have free-will to do whatever you want, without potentially having to deal with the consequences in a few years, that could make for some silly decision making.
Currently in his fifth year with the team, Dubas has a 186-93-29 record as the leader, which represents a .654 winning percentage.
Throughout the 100-plus year history of this franchise, Dubas has been the GM of the three best individual winning percentage seasons in team history (2020-21, 2022-23, 2021-22). I know this campaign is only 26 games deep, but the fact that the Leafs are once again having one of the best seasons of all-time speaks volumes for Dubas.
I know that winning in the playoffs is the ultimate goal and if you don’t win playoff games, the regular season doesn’t matter, but it seems ridiculous to evaluate someone on seven playoff games, compared to 82 regular season games every year.
If you put the last three years in context (Covid, injuries, outplaying Tampa) it’s hard to pin the Leafs failure to advance on their GM.
Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Kyle Dubas Now?
I understand that every Leafs fan is angry. Fans feel like this team is cursed because they haven’t yet to win a playoff round, but let me tell you something: it’s not Dubas’ fault.
As shown by his regular season record, he knows how to construct a roster. He has won in every facet of hockey he’s been apart of, except for the NHL playoffs, yet. And let me remind you, it’s not like this team is getting swept every time they make it to the playoffs.
They’re losing in Game 7 every year, and they keep coming excruciatingly close to making it to the next round, except for some reason, they lose. It’s not Dubas’ fault for that loss. Sure, he’s the one who “hired” the players to do the job, but he can’t be blamed for their inability to win the biggest games.
Would you rather them not have John Tavares, William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews on this roster? Do you really think a “tough guy” is the reason why they can’t win one game in the playoffs?
What about the three wins of the seven games they get every year? Are those wins just somehow flukes?
All I’m trying to say is why would you ever want to fire someone who’s bringing continued success to a franchise that hasn’t won anything since 1967? I’d much rather go down with Dubas for another five years and see what happens than take my chances with another GM because compared to the rest of the league, the Leafs have been a top-five regular season for the past five years.
Before Dubas makes a dumb mistake at the deadline and mortgages too much of the future, the Toronto Maple Leafs should extend him because he’s doing an amazing job.