Who stays? Who goes? That’s the question everybody is asking and nobody seems to have the answer to.
We do know that President and Alternate Governor, Brendan Shanahan, will speak in the coming days. What he’ll say is anybody’s guess. Some think he’s waiting for a couple of days before he steps down. Others believe he’ll be wiping the slate clean, with the announcement of firings and hirings when he takes the stage. I agree with the latter.
Kyle Dubas, during an emotional press conference yesterday, says that he’ll be the GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs next year or nowhere at all, as he’d need time to recalibrate. It’s been a tough year on his family and he needs to consult them before he proceeds with his career.
Sheldon Keefe, in my opinion, is on his way out no matter who is in the GM’s chair, as even Kyle Dubas must see that a change behind the bench is necessary at this time.
Stars John Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander are all reading from the same script. “I love it here. I want to be here. I don’t want change.” All know that change is coming, the only question is which one and/or how many of the “core four” are on their way to play in a different city next season.
With the 3rd round of the playoffs ready to kick off on Thursday, the NHL Entry Draft just 6 weeks away and free agency another 3 days afterwards, they don’t have a lot of time to decide who is going to be steering the ship moving forward. Considering the fact that both of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner have full No-Move Clauses that kick in on July 1st, while William Nylander will be armed with a 10-team no-trade list on the same day, if they are going to move one of their star players they will have to do it at or before the draft.
That means they need to either keep Kyle Dubas and allow him to make these moves, or hire a new GM in very short order, while hoping that he can get the needed return in a trade to push this team forward.
Thats a tall task and you’ll forgive me for not believing that even the best GMs can enter an organization, identify the issues within a dressing room, decide which star player has to be moved and then negotiate and maximize the return for that player, all in a 6 week span, while also preparing for a draft and free agency.