The Toronto Maple Leafs dismissed their general manager of five years on Friday.
After now ex Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas shared that he wasn’t sure about his future with the organization, team president Brendan Shanahan decided to let him go.
With Dubas out of the picture, it means that there will be a hunt for his replacement.
The search may be vast and perhaps even long, but in the end, there should only be one name that comes out of it, David Poile.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Next GM
While this will be a shocking hire, Shanahan needs to make Poile the Leafs new GM. He is the best candidate by far and someone who may actually want the position. Poile is originally from Toronto, which may hold a soft spot in his heart. If he grew up cheering for the Leafs, he may want to take on what is considered by many to be a dream job.
The newly vacant position may be enough to change Poile’s planned course of action, which was to retire. In February, he made the announcement that he was going to retire as the Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations and GM. He will be succeeded by Nashville’s first-ever and longtime coach, Barry Trotz. He will officially be named the Preds’ new general manager on July 1.
Poile is slated to serve as an advisor to ownership in Nashville as well as the franchise’s business operations leadership group, and their hockey operations department, which includes Trotz. Those plans would need to change.
Poile is more than qualified to run the Leafs. He has built the Predators from the ground up. That is, he is the only GM the organization has ever had. He also happens to be the winningest general managers in NHL history. Between his time with the Washington Capitals and with Nashville, he has accumulated 1533 wins. It’s over 100 more than former Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello who ranks second all-time with 1405 wins.
Poile’s full record is 1533 wins with 1172 losses, 192 ties, and 178 overtime losses over 3,075 games. He racked those numbers up over his 36 consecutive seasons as a general manager. If it’s winning that the Maple Leafs are after, then there’s no one with a better pedigree.
Poile’s detractors will point to the lack of rings on his fingers. He hasn’t won the Stanley Cup, but he did make it to the Finals in 2017. That same year, he was named the NHL’s General Manager of the Year. It’s an award for which Poile has been a finalist four times.
After serving a vital role with USA Hockey for so many years, at age 73, Poile should return to Canada and make his mark. There’s no better place to do so than with the Toronto Maple Leafs.