Article content
Last year in Pittsburgh gave Kyle Dubas time to reflect on his eventful years as general manager of the Maple Leafs.
Announcement 2
Article content
While there were plenty of on-ice accomplishments, multiple 100-point seasons for the team and some positive stories, playoff success eluded him, tied directly to the NHL’s contractual struggle with the salary cap after he outbid many teams for John Tavares with a seven-year, $77 million offer sheet.
In a new book by Craig Custance, an ESPN reporter who now works for The Athletic, Dubas’ entire pursuit of Tavares and his 10 years in Toronto are part of The Franchise: The Business of Building Winning Teams.
Dubas has no regrets about the deal with Tavares, who still has a year left and has caused headaches inherent to replacement Brad Treliving, but there are aspects he would like to get back.
“I think the biggest mistake I’ve made in my time here has been not taking care of the three contracts that were up,” Dubas told Custance. “(William) Nylander was up, (Mitch) Marner and (Auston) Matthews could have been done with July 1 extensions.”
Your midday sun
Article content
Announcement 3
Article content
Dubas regrets not making more strides in all of those areas before Tavares, though he did speak to the trio about the impact winning the JT sweepstakes would have on their future standing.
“What I learned was that once we signed John to (AAV), the whole roof went up,” he said.
Starting with Nylander, there were complications when an unnamed team floated the possibility of a bid and his price skyrocketed. This led to the winger’s two-month absence affecting his 2018-19 schedule, in which he scored just seven goals in 54 regular-season games and then just one in the playoffs.
Marner briefly sat out training camp before signing his current deal and Matthews eventually came in at a team-high $13.25 million AAV through 2027-28.
Announcement 4
Article content
Others have since come to Dubas’ defence and in the book, Darryl Belfry, then a member of the Leafs’ hockey front office in player development, recalls that the fallout from COVID-19 led to the flat cap at the time and history might have judged Dubas differently.
“What would be the limit, $90 million?” Belfry theorized. “Kyle would never say that, but I would. You have a closed world, it’s a fixed limit for several years and you’re caught in the trap of a projection. You didn’t miscalculate, it’s an act of nature that got the better of you.”
The book also features interviews with Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, Lou Lamoriello about his various stints as general manager, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Dallas Stars GM of the Year Jim Nill.
We’re sorry, but this video could not be loaded.
MARNER HELPS, BUT IN SILENCE
Announcement 5
Article content
Marner’s long-term future as a Leaf is unclear, but his sixth annual All-Star hockey invitational is certainly on track.
After a red-carpet launch Thursday night (hockey media were warned there would be no interviews with the winger), Marner and his NHL buddies were to hold an on-ice clinic for donors Friday morning at The Sports Village in Vaughan with instruction on puck control, stickhandling and scoring. That would be followed by a 3-on-3 tournament of NHL players in the afternoon.
The charity, one of the main reasons Marner hopes to remain in Toronto (the Leafs have had two weeks to begin talks on an extension), has raised $2 million for sustainable change for children and youth in the areas of social work, health, education and environmental causes.
Announcement 6
Article content
Marner’s mission statement reads in part: “You have a huge responsibility (as a Leaf) to change people’s lives every day and I believe it is your choice to try to do so.”
Marner met with Craig Berube and the new Leafs coach described him as “a character guy, I look forward to coaching him.”
HOTEL CALIFORNIA
The American Hockey League has expanded its regular-season map to include games between some Pacific Division and East Coast cities.
For the Toronto Marlies, that means a pair of home openers at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Oct. 12-13, against the San Diego Gulls and a November visit by the Bakersfield Condors. Four games are also scheduled at Scotiabank Arena: Boxing Day, Family Day (Feb. 17) and two Saturday doubleheaders against the Leafs on Nov. 16 and March 15.
Announcement 7
Article content
THE TALE OF WENDEL’S CUBE
Wendel Clark pulled out an unusual souvenir from the old Maple Leaf Gardens.
“The original practice puck bucket,” Clark said, while attending Studio Auctions’ recent Leafs and NHL memorabilia auction event with fellow captains Darryl Sittler and Rick Vaive. “It had been sitting there for who knows how many years, all blue with a white Leafs logo stamped on it.
“Whoever came out of the locker room first always picked it up at the door, a twenty-litre bucket that was three-quarters full of records. Why did I keep it? I guess just because.”
“I took care of that more than anyone else. I was so injured that I was practicing a lot on my own, including a whole year of training on my own. We didn’t have nine coaches working with you when you got injured, unlike today.”
Back in the day, visiting NHL teams often brought their own pucks to visiting arenas, so a collector with a keen eye could snag a rare puck. One Leaf found a Colorado Rockies puck a couple of years after the club moved to New Jersey.
Clark also had someone bid on his behalf for a locker room at the Gardens when the building closed in 1999.
“I just said to make sure it wasn’t Mats Sundin’s,” Clark laughed. “That one could have been expensive. The one I have doesn’t have a name on it. It’s sitting in my garage now because I’ve moved a few times.”
X: @sunhornby
Article content
