Kyle Dubas addressed the media today and touched on a number of topics including contract extensions, the trade deadline, and the drama surrounding William Nylander and Jake Gardiner.
Extensions for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner
Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Kyle Dubas, confirmed again what has been previously reported, there will be no contract talks between Mitch Marners camp and the Leafs before the season ends.
If you ask me this is a smart move by Mitch and his camp if they want to maximize their next deal. He’s having a terrific season while leading all Leafs forwards in TOI/GP and Powerplay TOI/GP (tied with John Tavares). He also leads the entire team in Points, Assists, Powerplay points, takeaways, and is tied for the lead in shorthanded points (this may be cheating, 3 players have a single point). His SH% is 4th (minimum 20 games played) on the team, he’s 3rd in Shots/GP, and he’s 3rd in goals, which is really nice for a player with a pass first mentality. On top of all of this he is averaging over a minute per game shorthanded.
Waiting should only add to his next contract.
Auston Matthews, on the other hand, is more than willing to negotiate in-season and Kyle has said there has been great discussion there and he’d like a deal done as soon as possible. While being careful to point out that he isn’t putting pressure on Auston (or any other player) to sign ahead of when they’re comfortable, he said that he would like it done as soon as possible for clarity sake. This is to say that they’d like to know what the long term outlook is as far as cap space is concerned, especially considering the trade deadline is just around the corner.
Matthews is 3rd among forwards in TOI/GP and 4th in Powerplay TOI/GP. He’s 4th on the team in points (despite missing 14 games), 2nd in Points/GP, 3rd in Powerplay points, 2nd in Goals scored and Goals/GP, 1st in SH% (minimum 20 games played), and has a 53.3% success rate on the dot.
He’ll demand a healthy contract for sure, and hopefully that extension is announced soon.
Dubas having "healthy dialogue" on extension for Auston Matthews. Referenced Marner's agent's public stance they don't want in-season negotiation: "Those are very big personal decisions for those players and I don’t want it to come off as we’re putting pressure on them to [sign]"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 22, 2019
The Trade Deadline
When asked about the deadline Kyle spoke about William Nylander being out to start the season, as well as Auston Matthews and Frederik Andersen missing time due to injury. With all of this in mind, and with the team being where they are in the standings, it’s their belief that the team has earned the right to be added to at the deadline. He spoke of adding pieces at the right price to fit the short and long term plans of the team.
Dubas happy w/ how #Leafs battled through key losses: "They’ve earned the right for us to explore ways we can continue to make the team better. We’re trying to do that & if there are things that are fair that fit for us in the short and long term, we’ll continue to explore that"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 22, 2019
Expanding on this, it seems that the preference for the Leafs would be to add a player that can be a part of the team for the future, and not just for a single playoff run. He did add that they wouldn’t shy away from expiring contracts if they felt the player could come in and contribute to the group, but a player with term would be the preference.
The Leafs have cap space to spare at the moment, and it’s generally accepted that the space they have now is a luxury that will be short lived. Dubas spoke about taking advantage of this fact by adding now while they have the space, then using their development system to fill holes in the lineup moving forward. The hope is that this will keep their contention window open longer.
He added this when asked about the value of their prospect pool, which I found interesting:
“I think the consternation regarding our prospect pool is a little ill-informed, and I can tell you that based on the calls we get from other teams asking about a litany of players within that system. So, I feel we have the prospect capital, both developed NHL players to help us out, to make trades if we need to, and we also have all of our draft picks and then some. So, I think we’re very well suited to do whatever we need to do with moving out various elements of our club to better our club now.”
While there have been rumours of the Leafs’ willingness to include players such as Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown, and Kasperi Kapanen into deals for the right player, this all but confirms those rumours for me. Any of those players, as well as a pick or prospect, should bring back a healthy return.
For a long time now it’s been rumoured that the Leafs have been big game hunting in the market for a defenseman. This appears to be the strategy they’re using to make that happen. Kyle also stated that they feel there are 4-6 forwards that they could call up at any given time to help fill in, similar to what Trevor Moore did. He named defenseman Calle Rosen, specifically, as an example of a player that has been terrific as the Toronto Marlies #1 defender, and could step in to help if needed as well.
Further on the deadline, Dubas states that things are cooling down now, and believes it’s because a lot of teams are having their pro scouting meetings, and things will pick up after the all-star break.
On William Nylander and Jake Gardiner
The message about William and Jake, the two Leafs under the most scrutiny among fans and media alike, was exactly what you’d think it is. He believes that William will turn it around, while saying that Jake is far better than fans give him credit for.
Dubas said #Leafs told Nylander he wouldn't be his old self overnight: "We have to remain patient & he has to continue to stick to his own development plan. He’s done that, he works very hard, he’s a very good young person. I’ve got a lot of faith he’ll work himself out of it"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 22, 2019
Dubas said it would be nice if fans/media recognized how Gardiner helped turn #Leafs around: "[When] you try to be creative and you make skill plays, from time to time they’re not going to go your way. But with Jake the positives far, far out rides the times it doesn’t go right"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 22, 2019
While it’s tough to disagree with his take on William Nylander, as I do think he will improve on what he’s done since rejoining the team (how can he not?), I’m not as convinced about Jake Gardiner. Maybe in a reduced role he could be more valuable, similar to what Phil Kessel has done as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, but as a top defender I remain skeptical about his ability to lead this team far into the post season.
The Leafs recent struggles
Kyle is calling the recent struggles of the Leafs an opportunity to grow, and insinuated that over the years it didn’t help his teams that weren’t challenged with adversity as they battled for a championship.
The team is better than what they’ve shown recently, and a GM needs to avoid hitting the panic button or else they’ll make unnecessary mistakes (see: Peter Chiarelli). So, while I’m not impressed with the Leafs’ recent stretch, this is still a very good team and it’s nice to see management continue to stick behind them.
Kyle Dubas not concerned w/ state of #Leafs, says adversity can help: "We had some teams…w/ the Marlies who didn’t really encounter any tough stretches during the season at all and then you get to late in the year when things are hard and the team hasn’t had [that] experience"
— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) January 22, 2019
In Conclusion
While Dubas is advertising not being under pressure to make any deals at the deadline, one has to wonder how much longer the Leafs can go before they admit to themselves that this defensive group needs help. The forwards could use a little more size as well but, to me, that is a secondary concern. If they could add a forward to play alongside Auston Matthews in the top 6, as well as a defender to play alongside Morgan Rielly on the top pair, they would stack up very well against just about any team in the league.
With mere weeks to go before the deadline it won’t be long before we find out just what Kyle Dubas is capable of in the trade market.
