Toronto Maple Leafs: The Best 5 Moves Kyle Dubas Made as GM

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Kyle Dubas will make his return to Scotiabank Arena for the first time since leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs as GM on Saturday night.

After spending nine seasons in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, Kyle Dubas is back, now as the GM and President of Hockey Operations with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins aren’t off to the greatest start, but they’re still technically above .500 with a 13-12-3 record, sitting in second last within the Metropolitan Division. Although they’re seventh out of eight teams in the Metro, it’s not as troubling as it sounds, since they’re only four points out of a playoff spot, and beset by a terrible power-play, which, when you look at their roster, should self-correct any time now.

That division is so stacked this year and the only team that has ran away with anything is the New York Rangers thus far, so Pittsburgh making the playoffs isn’t far-fetched at all.

In fact, based on Dubas’ history, I’d put money on Pittsburgh making the playoffs this season, thanks to a big in-season acquisition by him. He’s never been shy to trade a first-round pick or make a move to improve his roster when they’re struggling, as shown by the next few slides.

There are still a lot of Dubas haters since the Leafs only made it out of the First Round once, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. He continued to add to this roster year-after-year and put a fantastic team on ice, but unfortunately couldn’t win a championship.

It was the best roster we’ve seen in 20 years, so we should be thankful for that, so let’s look back on his best five moves as GM.

Head Coach Mike Babcock of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Best 5 Moves Kyle Dubas Made as GM

No. 5: Firing Mike Babcock

I’m going to try to write this in the nicest way possible, but Mike Babcock is straight up, a piece of garbage.

He’s an old-school hockey mind that bullied young players his entire career and everyone is thankful he’s back out of the NHL.

As shown by his recent activities in Columbus, Babcock’s gimmicks have no use in the NHL anymore, nor ever should have in the first place.

When Dubas took over as GM, all reports suggested that he wanted to fire Babcock immediately.

I’m not sure if there was animosity between the two but it was pretty clear that he wanted to hire his own coach, with Sheldon Keefe being his number-one choice.

Keefe and Dubas had spent years together with the Soo Greyhounds, then they won a Calder Cup Trophy together with the Toronto Marlies, so their bond clearly worked and they both trusted each other. Thankfully, after a shaky start of the 2019-20 season, Dubas got his wish and fired Babcock in replace of Keefe.

Currently in his fifth season as head coach, Keefe has been apart of four of the top five winning percentage seasons in Leafs history and clearly seems to be a great fit. I’m sure if the Leafs ever fire Keefe, Dubas will find a way to hire him right away, but that was one of a number of great moves Dubas made as GM with Toronto.

RALEIGH, NC – MARCH 25: Michael Bunting #58 of the Toronto Maple Leafs . (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images) /

No. 4: Michael Bunting Signing

Obviously his Soo Greyhounds connection played a huge factor in why Bunting signed in Toronto, but man, was this ever an amazing signing

Dubas signed Bunting to a two-year deal under $1M AAV, and he performed like a $5M player, probably better.

Not only was his production strong, but his hard work and grittiness is missed on this current roster.

He priced his way out of re-signing in Toronto, but the fact that the Leafs got control of this player for two years at the price he was paid was incredible.

In back-to-back seasons, Bunting scored 23 goals each year, but was one of the best players in the entire league 5v5.

Although it seems like it would be easy to find someone to play alongside Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, it was harder than it seemed until Bunting fit right in and did the job admirably

The fact that Dubas took a player who was essentially a 25-year-old rookie and saw potential as a top-line winger is crazy and he deserves a ton of credit for that opportunity and seeing it in Bunting.

Oct 20, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: Drafting & Developing

Before he was the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dubas was the GM of the Toronto Marlies and took a ton of pride in the drafting and development of players.

He completely changed the Marlies roster and turned them into a powerhouse team within the American Hockey League.

That vision helped the team win a Calder Cup, as players like Trevor Moore, Andreas Johnsson, Travis Dermott and Mason Marchment were all big pieces.

Moore, went undrafted, but Dubas saw something in him and he flourished with the Marlies.

Although he never found his way as a top-six forward in Toronto, he’s been doing that with the LA Kings for the past few seasons.

There are a million examples of players like Moore, but those who are still in the Leafs system that Dubas drafted are the following: Nick Robertson, Matthew Knies, Fraser Mintin, Nick Abruzzese, Topi Niemla,

A few of those players are making impacts with the Leafs already, while a few others will be there soon.

This is the hardest part of the job but Dubas has always set up this team for the future and some of his picks are currently paying dividends.

TORONTO, CANADA – APRIL 18: Ryan O’Reilly #90 of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Ryan O’Reilly Trade

Toronto is the biggest hockey market in the world when it comes to trade rumors.

If there’s a big-name player, and he’s Canadian (or not), he’s connected to the Leafs. However, they never get that player, until the Ryan O’Reilly trade.

O’Reilly, a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner, was the missing piece to the Leafs season last year. The team struggled without a strong third-line centre or top-six left-winger and he helped fill both of those voids.

In 11 playoff games, O’Reilly finished with three goals and nine points, but more importantly was a leader right away.

The way he plays is a perfect style for playoff hockey and that passion was ignited into the rest of the roster.

I know that the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t win a Stanley Cup and O’Reilly signed in Nashville afterwards, but this trade showed the fans and the team something.

It showed them that this GM would do whatever it takes to bring in proven winners and someone who can help them win now.

They took a chance and they were successful, but unfortunately not quite successful enough, but this was one of the best moves Dubas ever made because he went all-in on winning at the right moment.

John Tavares #91 of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on against the Washington Capitals during the first period at Capital One Arena on October 24, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

No. 1: John Tavares Signing

Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are the flashy superstars, but Tavares has been right there producing a point-per-game level his entire team in Toronto.

Six years have flown by but we have to remember just how big of a deal this signing was.

As previously mentioned, no player ever seemed to get traded to Toronto, but even more rare was a player who signed with the Leafs.

We’d seen players like Brad Richards and Steven Stamkos walk away from the Leafs in previous years and assumed the same would apply with Tavares, but it didn’t.

Not only did he sign in Toronto for seven years, but reports indicated that he took less money to join his hometown team.

Over the past six years, Tavares has been a fantastic captain and leader for this team, doing everything in his power to help them win.

He’s a quiet individual who puts up loud numbers, as he’s seeming a 35-goal and 80 point per year player every season. His consistency is incredible and he’s not really slowing down.

Next. Leafs Don't Regret Lafferty Trade. dark

When he signed that deal, we all thought the wheels would fall off by now, but he’s the same guy he’s always been. I know that $11M AAV is a lot of money but you have to make that signing every day of the week and it’s definitely the best move that Dubas ever made as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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