Toronto Maple Leafs: Five Candidates to Replace Kyle Dubas As GM

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On Friday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that general manager Kyle Dubas is not returning next season.

Dubas spent five years and eight days as the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

During that time, Dubas signed 204 players to a total contract value of $628 million according to capfriendly.com. He drafted 44 players and made 71 trades. No matter what Dubas did, he had his supporters and his haters.

Things might have worked out differently for Dubas if Toronto had beaten the Florida Panthers and made it to the NHL’s eastern conference final. Instead, they were eliminated in five games after ending their 19-year curse of not making it past the first round.

The writing was on the wall when Toronto decided against signing Dubas to an extension last off-season. It was a do-or-die season for Dubas, and the team didn’t get it done.

Many will argue that Dubas put too many of his eggs in one basket allocating too much salary cap space to Toronto’s core four. Auston Matthews ($11.6 million), John Tavares ($11 million), Mitch Marner ($10.9 million), and William Nylander ($6.9 million).

That’s a total of $40.4 million for four players. There was also defenseman Morgan Rielly, who started making $7.5 million this season. Those five players used up more than 50% of Toronto salary cap space. Dubas found ways of adding secondary scoring when needed, but his limited cap space made it difficult.

With Kyle Dubas out, who should be the next GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Toronto Maple Leafs Top GM Candidate: Brandon Pridham

Brandon Pridham has been working behind the scenes for the Toronto Maple Leafs as an assistant general manager and salary cap wizard.

He’s worked for Toronto since 2015, helping them navigate their salary cap with the precision of a surgeon. Someone with his knowledge is beneficial with the NHL’s hard salary cap in place.

Team president Brendan Shanahan held a press conference on Friday afternoon. He mentioned that a key factor in finding the next GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs is finding someone with experience. He also mentioned that he is happy with the direction the team is heading. Hiring Pridham would allow Shanahan the opportunity to have a GM in place that understands the direction the team is headed in.

Pridham has helped Kyle Dubas behind the scenes with contract signings and trades. He’s been crucial in making trades that involve players on LTIR and making everything fit under the NHL’s salary cap. Pridham was mentioned as a possible GM option for the Calgary Flames. Shanahan needs to move quickly if he wants to keep Pridham with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Having a new GM in place before the NHL draft is not a priority, but it is beneficial if the team wants to make any trades from the draft floor.

The biggest job for Pridham or any incoming GM will be re-signing Auston Matthews to a contract extension. After that, he can worry about any other free agents, but Matthews has to come first. Seeing as how Pridham helped construct Matthews’s current deal, Pridham shouldn’t have trouble working out a new one.

I think Pridham is the number one choice for the Maple Leafs.

Eric Tulsky

Eric Tulsky is currently an assistant general manager with the Carolina Hurricanes.

He has worked in the Hurricanes organization since 2014. His role with Carolina has changed a few times since he first joined the team. Tulsky spent his first year in Carolina as a part-time consultant. In 2015 he became a full-time hockey analyst. He got promoted to manager of analytics in 2017, then V.P. of management and strategy in 2018, and finally to AGM in 2020.

Like Brandon Pridham, Tulsky is in high demand for the few vacant general manager jobs around the NHL. Tulsky is being mentioned as a front-runner for the GM position with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Being the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs is highly sought after job. Would Tulsky wait and see if Toronto comes calling before making a decision on Pittsburgh or any other team?

It doesn’t seem like Shanahan wants to veer too far away from the style that Kyle Dubas brought to the team. Analytics is another reason Tulsky is a good match for the Maple Leafs. On his LinkedIn page, he says the following “I am also naturally a data-driven thinker and transitioned to leading the data science effort for the Carolina Hurricanes, building predictive and diagnostic models to assess players and on-ice strategies and communicating the results across the organization.”

Tulsky is my second choice for Toronto GM if Pridham is not given the job.

Jason Botterill

Jason Botterill is a former hockey player who played 88 games over six seasons with four different teams. He received his first big break when the Buffalo Sabres hired him as general manager in 2017.

After a few seasons with no playoff appearances, he was fired in June of 2020.

Although his time in Buffalo wasn’t successful while he was there, many players that contributed to the Sabres’ rebound year this season were brought in during Botterill’s tenure.

He is responsible for drafting elite defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and goaltender Ukka-Pekka Luokkonen. Botterill also pulled the trigger on trading former Sabres captain Ryan O’Reilly to the St.Louis Blues, which resulted in the Sabres receiving current superstar Tage Thompson.

Botterill is not as connected to the Toronto Maple Leafs core group as Dubas was.

Therefore, if a trade is needed to help the team, he won’t be afraid to make it. I’m sure Shanahan will get a final say in any moves Botterill plans to make, but Shanahan did mention in his press conference that he’s okay with the GM being in control of the team. Botterill offers Toronto a different type of than Dubas, Pridham, or Tulsky, but he’s not the complete opposite of those guys either.

I don’t think Botterill is Toronto’s first choice, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they hired him.

Mathieu Darche

Mathieu Darche played 250 games in the NHL over nine seasons with five different teams. He received his first managerial job in the NHL in May 2019 as the Director of Hockey Operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was part of the managerial team that helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2021.

The Tampa Bay Lightning went to the Stanley Cup final three seasons in a row and won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. That kind of experience is a valuable asset to bring to a new team, especially a team in desperate need of finding playoff success.

While working with the Lightning, Darche has had a very hands-on relationship with general manager Julian BriseBois. He advises on all player personnel and contract decisions and is in charge of navigating the NHL salary cap.

Darche did not have a hand in helping the NHL create the salary cap like Pridham did, but he’s just as good at manipulating it. Cap management is an important asset in today’s NHL.

Darche is reportedly a candidate for the vacant GM job in Pittsburgh, but I’m sure he’d like to see if the Toronto Maple Leafs call for an interview in the coming days. He’s demonstrated an ability to negotiate fair contracts and is not afraid to cut ties with a player when the timing is right to move on.

Ryan Hardy

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Ryan Hardy in June 2021 as Senior Director of Minor League Operations. Before Toronto hired him, Hardy served as General Manager of the United States Hockey League’s Chicago Steel since the start of their 2018-19 season.

In that role, Hardy’s job was to oversee hockey operations for the AHL Marlies and ECHL Growlers, including roster decisions and staffing. He also worked in unison with the Player Development department to track drafted prospects and participate in player personnel and scouting initiatives as needed.

In July 2022, he was promoted to Assistant General Manager, Minor League Operations. His working with the Toronto Marlies gives him the upper hand in the knowledge of Toronto’s prospects. He has a good understanding of which players would benefit from an opportunity to play with the Toronto Maple Leafs when called upon.

Hardy has also seen how the inner workings of Toronto Maple Leafs’ management run things under Brendan Shanahan, so it wouldn’t take him long to adjust to his new position. He’s worked closely with Kyle Dubas and others during his time in Toronto and knows what is expected.

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Hardy is not my first choice, but I think he has what it takes to try and make the Maple Leafs a successful hockey team.

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