Kyle Dubas

Well, it was quite the Tuesday for the Toronto Maple Leafs' front office as general manager Kyle Dubas swung three trades in rapid succession to bolster the ...

“He’s a guy that’s as competitive and physical as there is in the league. “We recognize the confidence and faith that he has in us,” Matthews said. In other words, he brings the strength and experience to better withstand Tampa and Boston’s aggressive forechecks than Sandin would at this stage in his development. One-Timers: Keefe is starting with a pure shutdown pair, McCabe and T.J. (The pick was originally owned by the Boston Bruins and was flipped to Washington in the Dmitry Orlov-Garnet Hathaway trade.) No salary was retained. “How do we situate ourselves to best compete? 17 — and 38 points, he instantly becomes the highest-scoring defenceman on Toronto’s roster. He has battled through multiple minor injuries this season, putting up four goals and a career-best 20 points, largely in a sheltered third-pairing role. With seven goals — including a hat trick against Toronto on Dec. He’s tried to figure out ways we can get better, and he’s been aggressive with it. Gustafsson, like Sandin, is a left shot. So, I don’t think there’s any doubt we’ve improved in our depth and our competitiveness at both forward and defence.”

After a pair of trades that saw no players taken away from the active roster, the Toronto Maple Leafs GM parted ways with Rasmus Sandin and Pierre Engvall ...

It is an admirable thing about the citizens of Leafs Nation. It has been 55 years and counting since they've celebrated the ultimate hockey victory.

Perhaps with an eye on that potential peril, Dubas got back a first-round pick in the move that brought Gustafsson to Toronto on Tuesday. The giddiness about the changes, in this case, comes attached to a certain wisdom. If he has previously added a sprinkling of players to round out his core, this year he’s adding a deluge. That two more first-round draft picks flew out the door over the past handful of days means Dubas has now traded six first-round picks going back to the Muzzin acquisition in 2019. The Shanaplan builds off an untested blueprint, committing massive resources to high-priced forwards at the expense of the quality of talent from the net out. In Toronto, there’s another compelling driver to the player-movement bonanza: The desperateness of Dubas. So in an era that’s seen close NHL observers bemoaning the lack of dealing among uber-conservative executives, cursing a hard salary cap that’s too restrictive and casting a longing eye toward the drama-infused NBA, this pre-deadline explosion of hockey moves amounts to welcome stuff. Whether or not the on-ice product is actually better as a result of Dubas’s workaholic flurry of additions to the team in the lead-up to Friday’s trade deadline won’t be provable until April. You can already hear this year’s respect-in-the-handshake-line rationalization should the Leafs incur the seventh straight first-round failure in the wake of the ninth anniversary of the Shanaplan: “Now we’ve got the team. What’s for sure is that the team is markedly different than it was heading into the playoffs a year ago, when the Leafs suffered the sixth straight opening-round series loss of the Shana-plan era. But along with 30-year-old defenceman Erik Gustafsson — who was brought over in a deal that sent 22-year-old Rasmus Sandin to Washington — the duo joins Monday acquisition Jake McCabe, a physical presence in his own right, in shoring up a Toronto blue line that had been short on snarl since Jake Muzzin left the picture. It is an admirable thing about the citizens of Leafs Nation.

Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager Kyle Dubas has made yet another massive trade this time with the Chicago Blackhawks to improve his team.

After the March 3 NHL Trade Deadline, the pressure shifts to the players to try and win the Stanley Cup. Dubas was asked about Murray being activated off of LTIR, to which he responded with, “We are tracking towards that, that’s the hope.” This is an indication that the Maple Leafs are going to be using Ilya Samsonov and Murray as their tandem for the playoffs. [Lafferty.](https://thehockeywriters.com/docs/sam-lafferty/) He mentioned his versatility and the speed he will bring to the lineup, saying “for me, the speed is the number one thing that he brings. He then went on to say that it was essentially done last night and it wasn’t a reaction move to the Tampa Bay Lightning [ acquiring Tanner Jeannot](https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning-acquire-forward-tanner-jeannot-from-nashville-predators-1.1924191). In the last couple of playoff series for the Leafs, it has been a lack of scoring, defence, and physicality that has cost the team. Similar to how the Bruins have done with their big trade with the Washington Capitals. Lastly, Dubas talked about the trade discussions with the Blackhawks, and how it was in the works for some time. After the trade was announced Dubas met with the media to talk about the deal and the direction of the team heading into the March 3 trade deadline. He also noted that he likes how “physical he is and his competitiveness in the neutral zone”, which is something that the team’s blue line has lacked this season. Therefore, he is a better, cheaper option for the Maple Leafs to go with. But also the versatility, able to play center, able to play wing.” Reading that, Leafs Nation would probably assume that he is just like Alex Kerfoot, but he does bring other aspects. [made yet another massive trade](https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/well-still-be-busy-why-maple-leafs-made-mccabe-trade-and-may-need-one-more-move/) to improve his team.

Hopefully, with the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, the Maple Leafs consider any and all trades to get them not only back into the postseason but ...

Here’s to the Maple Leafs finally conquering their postseason curse of always being a “one and done” hockey team as enough is enough already. This was an excellent article about the potential that forward Nikita Grebyonkin could have on the Maple Leafs if everything falls into place. It should pay dividends for the Maple Leafs as they hopefully prepare for another playoff run He’s done two trades with hopes that they can be what gets this hockey team over the hump once they make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hopefully, with the NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, the Maple Leafs consider any and all trades to get them not only back into the postseason but actually advancing this time around. The Toronto Maple Leafs are enjoying their current three-game winning streak after a solid 5-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Sunday to get the new week started off right.

Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Frankie Corrado discuss the Maple Leafs trades and the job that GM Kyle Dubas has done for this team prior to the trade ...

We’re answering the hockey questions that no one asked. A hockey podcast that doesn’t talk about last night’s scores. [LISTEN NOW](/duthie) [Beauties](https://omny.fm/shows/beauties)

I watch a lot of Maple Leafs games. I wince when things go bad, when a defenceman fails due to his own weakness or a momentary error.

I think the mushiness of my thoughts on this as a concept matches the mushiness of my thoughts on Jake McCabe as a player. But then Arvind also said that any player that comes in and moves out Sandin, for example, may not really reproduce the transitional value of Sandin as well as adding his own different skills to the mix. I think there’s a bigger unease at play with the youngest members of the defence corps. On the team as it was before they arrived, Sandin and Liljegren both act as a bridge from the defensive zone to the offensive zone. The Leafs haven’t really ever made a big mistake in choosing a defender since Lou (and me) took Zaitsev’s rookie year too much to heart. I’m skirting dangerously close to “in the playoffs it’s different” which Dubas didn’t even want to engage with and neither do I. And the camera zeros in on Kyle Dubas. They carry the puck well, they pass well, and they succeed at moving the play out of the defensive zone and into the offensive zone. It’s the missing mitigation in the butthurt over a coach who doesn’t trust a young player or even one who isn’t young, but is the flavour of the month for call-ups. I’m heavily inclined to think that’s post facto narration, pasted onto events that gives in to the worst cliché of hockey: every action arises from intent. They add to the overall picture of success by helping the team to not defend as much as they would without their other skills. This is the reality that the “play the kidz” crowd fails to see.

There might not be a better Maple Leafs immersion for all the new crew than road games in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver this week.

Brad Boyes (24th in 2000) didn’t play before being dealt away, but came back to sign 15 years later … Bryan is the current director player personnel for the Florida Panthers. The Preds will pick up a small percentage of Eklund’s salary. Leon Draisaitl has 18 points in 21 games versus Toronto, but is a minus eight. “They all have to be together. “It’s at the balance now where you get between (asking) ‘are you changing the group too much?’,” said general manager Kyle Dubas in remarks to the media before the arrival of Jake McCabe, Sam Lafferty, Erik Gustafsson and Luke Schenn.

It is an admirable thing about the citizens of Leafs Nation. It has been 55 years and counting since they've celebrated the ultimate hockey victory.

Perhaps with an eye on that potential peril, Dubas got back a first-round pick in the move that brought Gustafsson to Toronto on Tuesday. The giddiness about the changes, in this case, comes attached to a certain wisdom. If he has previously added a sprinkling of players to round out his core, this year he’s adding a deluge. That two more first-round draft picks flew out the door over the past handful of days means Dubas has now traded six first-round picks going back to the Muzzin acquisition in 2019. The Shanaplan builds off an untested blueprint, committing massive resources to high-priced forwards at the expense of the quality of talent from the net out. In Toronto, there’s another compelling driver to the player-movement bonanza: The desperateness of Dubas. Beyond Leafland, [Tuesday saw Patrick Kane move from Chicago to the New York Rangers,](https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2023/02/28/rangers-acquire-star-winger-patrick-kane-from-blackhawks.html) one of the greatest American-born players landing in America’s biggest city. Whether or not the on-ice product is actually better as a result of Dubas’s workaholic flurry of additions to the team in the lead-up to Friday’s trade deadline won’t be provable until April. But along with 30-year-old defenceman [Erik Gustafsson](https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/players/179053/stats) — who was brought over in a deal that sent 22-year-old [Rasmus Sandin](https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/players/1317832/stats) to Washington — the duo joins Monday acquisition [Jake McCabe](https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/players/551388/stats), a physical presence in his own right, in shoring up a Toronto blue line that had been short on snarl [since Jake Muzzin left the picture](https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/2023/02/22/leafs-defenceman-jake-muzzin-ruled-out-of-regular-season-and-playoffs-due-to-cervical-spine-injury.html). You can already hear this year’s respect-in-the-handshake-line rationalization should the Leafs incur the seventh straight first-round failure in the wake of the ninth anniversary of the Shanaplan: “Now we’ve got the team. What’s for sure is that the team is markedly different than it was heading into the playoffs a year ago, when the Leafs suffered the sixth straight opening-round series loss of the Shana-plan era. It is an admirable thing about the citizens of Leafs Nation.