Four days after team president Brendan Shanahan shared his perspective of the decision to part ways with general manager Kyle Dubas, Tuesday brought the first statement from the now-former leader of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The statement, released by Dubas on Twitter on behalf of his family, made it clear he won’t be getting into “specifics of what I consider to be reasonable and consistent but private discussions” surrounding his departure.
While speculation will surely continue to swirl about how things ultimately went down, the more pressing — and answerable — questions are about what lies ahead for both the team and Dubas.
Because as has become very evident in the days since the franchise-altering decision, Dubas’ departure sends massive ripples through not just Toronto, but the entire league:
How has Dubas news affected Pittsburgh’s front-office search?
Sportsnet insiders Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek spoke at length on the Maple Leafs’ situation and Dubas’ potential next steps in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. As Friedman indicated, the Penguins appeared to be nearing the conclusion of their own hiring process when the Dubas news came down.
The Penguins fired general manager Ron Hextall and director of hockey operations Brian Burke last month after the club missed the post-season for the first time in 16 years. The organization has since been conducting a thorough search for its next front-office leader — a search that has seen Tampa Bay’s director of hockey operations, Mathieu Darche, emerge as a front-runner, according to Friedman. But that was before Dubas became available.
“From what I understand, Pittsburgh was very close to ending their search,” explained Friedman. “I think there was the possibility that we were going to find out who the new head of Pittsburgh’s hockey operations was going to be early this week. I believe that was the plan, and I believe that’s where we were headed.”
We now know the franchise obtained permission to speak with the ex-Leafs GM.
“I think Pittsburgh is gonna make their pitch and see if that appeals to Kyle Dubas,” said Friedman. “And I think that process is underway.”
It’s unclear whether the Penguins are looking to hire one person to lead their front office in a GM/president capacity or whether the team will follow the same structure as the one it used with Hextall and Burke.
Who’s next to lead the Maple Leafs?
Although Pittsburgh presents a particularly fascinating GM search considering its ever-mounting pressure to win another Stanley Cup with the aging core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, Toronto’s search now takes the top spot on the intrigue-o-meter.
Whoever lands the gig will have major decisions to make right out of the gate — how will they approach an Auston Matthews extension? Will they keep head coach Sheldon Keefe in the fold? What happens next for the Core Four?
Plenty of questions ahead. And plenty of names to go around the rumour mill.
“We know they have permission to talk to Brad Treliving, and I think that absolutely, Treliving will be a person who is going to be an individual of interest in this particular search,” noted Friedman, referring to the former Flames GM. “I think there will be plenty more.”
With Conroy in place in Calgary, Flames’ coaching search begins
The Calgary Flames’ front office is officially in place, with the team introducing freshly minted general manager Craig Conroy on Tuesday and announcing a series of other staffing moves around him, including Dave Nonis as a senior executive and assistant GM. Conroy is a very familiar name in Calgary — the former Flames player spent nearly a decade as assistant GM and has been in a front-office role with the franchise since 2010.
Now, all eyes turn to the bench as Conroy sets about choosing his head coach. And there are plenty of familiar names to choose from there, too. On the list of potential candidates, according to Friedman: Mitch Love, AHL Calgary Wranglers head coach; Ryan Huska, former AHL head coach and longtime assistant in Calgary; Flames assistant Kirk Muller; former Vancouver Canucks coach Travis Green; and former Florida Panthers coach Andrew Brunette. “The whole (Jonathan) Huberdeau connection, I think is not insignificant,” noted Friedman. But one name that brings a little extra intrigue is Alex Tanguay. The former Flames player has spent the past four years as an assistant coach, first with AHL Iowa and most recently with Detroit, and is currently with Team Canada at the world championship.
“Conroy and Iginla know Alex Tanguay very well, and I’ve heard they both think very highly about Tanguay,” said Friedman. (Iginla was not part of Calgary’s staffing announcement Tuesday but Conroy expressed interest in joining forces with his former teammate in the future.) Friedman continued: “The other thing I’ve heard is that Calgary wants to improve their offence, not only in terms of the kinds of players but in the way those players are taught, the system they play, the encouragement of more of an offensive game. And, obviously, a guy like Brunette would really appeal to that, but so would Tanguay. I’ve been told that Conroy and Iginla think that Tanguay has a very elite offensive mind.”
Could the NHL add two extra games to the schedule?
Over the weekend, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported an interesting possibility in the seemingly never-ending escrow and salary cap discussions between the NHL and the NHLPA.
Per Brooks, “the PA is willing to discuss increasing the schedule to 84 games.”
Blue Jackets nearing a name for next head coaching hire?
Patience continues to be key for Columbus Blue Jackets fans as they await news on their next head coach. As Blue Jackets reporter Aaron Portzline tweeted late last week, GM Jarmo Kekalainen was hoping to have his next head coach in place before he departed for the IIHF world championship, but things haven’t worked out that way.
Per Portzline, some veteran names have been in the mix, including Mike Babcock and Joel Quenneville. According to Post reporter Larry Brooks, it’s possible longtime Red Wing (and short-time Blue Jacket near the end of his playing career) Sergei Fedorov could be a candidate.
In this far-and-wide search for the GM’s fourth head coach, Friedman believes there’s also interest in first-time bench boss Spencer Carbery. Carbery spent the past two seasons on Keefe’s staff in Toronto and is considered one of this summer’s most eligible coaching candidates. According to Friedman, Carbery is getting a lot of interest and appears to be visiting a few teams this week.
