Toronto Maple Leafs: Brendan Shanahan Speaks to Media

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Friday morning, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced through a press release that they were not going to be signing General Manager Kyle Dubas to an extension for when his current contract expires on June 30.

Friday afternoon, Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan held a press conference where he first explained a timeline regarding the final year of the Dubas contract.

Last off-season, Shanahan informed Dubas that he would not be receiving an extension offer prior to the final year of his contract;
It was Shanahan’s hope and intention that they would be extending Dubas and moving forward, but had to see how the year played out, which the general manager took well and that he was comfortable with the decision;
Shanahan thought Dubas did an incredible job last off-season and set up the season very well;
Shanahan thought Dubas managed the season well and thought he prepared the team as best as a general manager could at the trade deadline;
After the trade deadline, Shanahan approached Dubas telling him he wanted to work out an extension and that he thought he should discuss it with his family;
Dubas came back stating he wanted to move forward with the extension and asked for Shanahan to conduct the discussions with his agent;
Throughout the playoffs, Shanahan felt that he and the agent were making progress to the point Shanahan thought a contract was almost done;
When the season ended, Shanahan approached Dubas telling him that he felt that despite the finish he thought he did a good job;
The weekend the playoffs ended they met together and Shanahan presented him with an offer he thought was relevant to the frame work he had made with the agent and thought Dubas liked; and
The next day they discussed Monday’s media availability, Shanahan did not want to meet with media until the contract was done and suggested the same for Dubas, but the general manager wanted to speak with the media as both Keefe and the players were doing so.

With everything that Shanahan disclosed at this point in the press conference, it appeared that the extension was almost complete and the pair was ready to move forward.

DALLAS, TX – JUNE 23: (l-r) Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Shanahan stated that he watched the year end press conference with Dubas which had a change in his mindset about the future for the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Shanahan stated there was a shift in his thinking due to Dubas stating that he might not want to be the general manager;
Shanahan understood the pressure that both Dubas and his family had; but also started thinking there was a possibility that he may need to find a new person for the job;
Over the next few days Shanahan did not get anymore clarity on whether Dubas wanted to be back;
Wednesday night Shanahan started the realistic thought process that the team may need a new general manager;
Thursday Shanahan received a new financial package from the agent and did not hear until that evening from Dubas through email, at which point he stated that he did still want to be the general manager;
At the time of the email, due to how the week had transpired, Shanahan had come to the conclusion that the team needed a new general manager;
Shanahan slept on his new thought process and then met with Dubas on Friday morning and informing him that he would no longer be the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager; and
Shanahan’s next step after speaking with the media would be moving forward looking for a new general manager.

Shanahan’s comments leads the listener to believe that the mindset changed because Dubas was verbally going through his thought process and working things out.

The looming decision from Dubas is potentially life altering was struggling and you can understand a person debating about it. However, this may have caused Shanahan not to think logically and long term for the Leafs. As such, the Leafs may have lost one of the top young hockey minds.

DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: (L-R) John Lilley, Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

The Maple Leafs President than answered questions from the media which resulted in the following answers:

The discussions did not break down because of money;
After the press conference on Monday, Shanahan started to realistically think that Dubas was not going to be the general manager for the team;
He is going to be open minded to all candidates for the general manager spot, but would like someone with experience;
Ownership was supportive, but it was Shanahan’s recommendation and decision to move on from Dubas;
Does not regret not signing Dubas last off-season and felt it is not uncommon to go through the last year of a contract without an extension;
Felt he went to Dubas at the right time when the general manager proved he deserved an extension which was at the deadline;
Shanahan knew Dubas had considered not coming back prior to the media availability on Monday, but did not think he was going to release that to the public and it made it all more realistic;
When asked about more personnel moves, he states that he has spoken with most, but still needs to talk to some and feels it should be the responsibility of the new general manager;
Will lean on Brandon Pridham going forward for the next little bit;
The replacement needs to be found in short order;
Does not see Dubas as a failure and that he has put the team where they are at, but needs to find a way to get to the next phase; and
Shanahan did not want to speak about what needs to change on the roster as he wants to go through that with the new general manager first.

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Like it or hate, Kyle Dubas is no longer the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Brendan Shanahan will now need to spend the holiday long weekend finding a new candidate as the team has a very busy six weeks moving forward.

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