(Toronto) Kyle Dubas has an important decision to make as he completes his contract with the team in June.
The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager said Monday, as the team reviewed its season following its second-round playoff elimination, that he needed time to think about whether he was going to come back or not with the team.
Dubas said if he leaves the organization it will be to take time with his family after a demanding year. He added that he would not join another club for the next season.
Maple Leafs general manager since 2018, Dubas said that if he stays next season, there will be big changes to come, including the core of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Mitch Marner, who will give a better chance to the team to win the Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs won a playoff round for the first time since 2004, winning in six games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. The Toronto team was then eliminated in five games by the Florida Panthers.
“He’s a first-class general manager,” said team defenseman Morgan Rielly. I’m not responsible for what will happen with his contract, but everything he did, he did in the best interest of the team. These are the players who were on the ice during the games. »
Matthews and Nylander will play out the final year of their contracts next season and can sign contract extensions from 1er July. Matthews and Marner, while Marner has two more seasons on his contract, will have their no-move clauses come into effect on that same date. For his part, Nylander will have a list of 10 teams he cannot be traded to.
Tavares will be 33 and will still be $11 million under the team’s salary cap when the 2023-24 regular season begins.
“I like being here,” said Tavares, who signed with the Maple Leafs in 2018 as a free agent, when asked about his no-move clause. I signed a contract to be a Maple Leaf for seven years, and that’s what I plan to do. »
It’s no secret that Matthews, who said Monday he wants to stay in Toronto and sign a contract extension this summer, has a good relationship with Dubas.
“We’ve created a really good culture here,” said the winner of last season’s Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s most valuable player. If you don’t meet expectations or fail, people point fingers. However, my experience with Dubas has been very positive. »