By Mike Rifkin
On Friday, Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shannahan announced the team would not renew the contract of General Manager Kyle Dubas after five seasons as the team’s General Manager and nine years with the organization. In the regular season, the Leafs had a record of 221-109-42. This year the Leafs won their first playoff series since 2004. In my opinion, the Dubas firing is only the start of what should be an enticing and exciting offseason in Toronto. Before I dive into what I think the Leafs should do or at least consider doing, I have one burning question. Why does Brendan Shannahan get to make another decision? Shannahan has been in charge of the Leafs for nine years and, like Dubas, has one playoff series win. Now I don’t care about semantics and whether this came down to money or what Dubas said at his season-ending press conference where he wanted to discuss this with his family. All I know is one guy is gone, and the other guy is still around. So what happens if the Leafs fail again? Will that smell like the end of Brendan Shannahan?
Like I said before, if I were in charge of the Leafs, the Dubas firing would be the start of some off-season changes in Toronto. If a new General Manager is coming in, they should get to pick the coach, so the first thing the new gm should do is fire Sheldon Keefe. Keefe has a record of 166-71-30 in the regular season and a 13-17 playoff record. Do they bring in a first-time coach or someone with experience, and what kind of coach is the new GM looking for?
Then there’s the “core four” of Auston Matthews, John Taveras, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander. Matthews and Nylander can sign long-term contract extensions starting July 1st, Mitch Marner’s no-trade clause kicks in July 1st, and John Taveras has a no-trade clause with two years left on his deal. Now if you listen to the Breakaway Bandits podcast (cheap plug), I’ve said for a couple of years that I would move Nylander if I’m moving someone off the core four. That has now been changed, Nylander has been very consistent the past couple of seasons, and he has been outstanding in the playoffs. I don’t think Taveras will garner that much in a trade unless it’s a cap hit for a cap hit so that leaves Marner or Matthews. Whoever gets moved, the new gm would have to get a significant haul back, and history would suggest that a Center should get you more than a winger. If Matthews doesn’t sign his extension on July 1st, I think he’s the guy who has to be moved. I know Matthews is a cornerstone player who has already won a Hart trophy and scored 60 goals in a season, but this team cannot run it back with the same group. Now if Matthews is the guy that the new GM would move, there is one spot for him to go to. Sending Matthews to the Los Angeles Kings for a haul that would include former second-overall pick Quinton Byfield makes a ton of sense. Moving Matthews could also allow the Leafs to bring back Ryan O’Reilly, who they acquired at the trade deadline and played pretty well for the Leafs.
I’m not sure what the Leafs will do this summer, but one thing is for sure it will be a fascinating offseason in Toronto.
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