No. 1: Kyle Dubas is an Elite General Manager
Say what you want about Kyle Dubas’ inability to win in the playoffs, but that onus has to go on the players. I know he’s the one who put those players together, but his work has been brilliant, despite the lack of playoff success.
Throughout his tenure as GM, he’s put together a regular season juggernaut. By February every year, it feels like the Leafs have practically locked up a playoff spot and this season was no different. However, Dubas’ ability to change his philosophy is why he’s an elite manager.
At this year’s NHL Trade Deadline, the Leafs could have stayed put, or at least, only made one big splash. Instead, they not only acquired Ryan O’Reilly, but added Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe, Noel Acciari, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson. Dubas made a valiant effort to add leadership and toughness, which are obviously two big components to winning playoff games.
Not only will those moves hopefully translate into playoff wins, but his ability to sign Calle Jarnkrok, Mark Giordano and Ilya Samsonov over the offseason have been steals. Jarnkrok is on-pace for 20 goals, Giordano has been the Leafs most consistent defenseman and Samsonov will probably start Game 1 of the playoffs.
For a combined $4.7M, you can’t really find better talent than that at that price, so Dubas deserves a ton of credit once again.