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The ability of the Toronto Maple Leafs to keep their intentions close to the vest was a trait the organization adopted with the hiring of Lou Lamoriello in July 2015, but according to former Leafs GM Brian Burke, the club moving on from the Hall-of-Fame GM last week was not a surprise in league circles.
“This was kind of common knowledge in the hockey community that this was going to happen for the last two months,… Burke said on Sportsnet FAN 590’s Prime Time Sports on Friday. “Probably why no one talked about it is, we all figured that Lou knew, (so there was) no reason to bring it to anyone’s attention and no reason to talk about it.…
While indicating that he had not spoken to any of the Leafs hierarchy directly, Burke stated that the speculation circulating around the league was that Toronto gave the Colorado Avalanche permission to talk to Assistant GM Kyle Dubas about their vacant GM position. The Leafs then refused to give the Avalanche permission to hire the 31-year-old executive and in the wake of that refusal, promises were made regarding his future with the club.
Team President Brendan Shanahan offered no timetable for the hiring of a new GM to replace Lamoriello and did not preclude the possibility of interview outside candidates for the position, but at this point it would be surprising if Dubas did not get the job.
It is expected that the Leafs will make a decision prior to the NHL Draft in Dallas next month, but the current management structure is the one that was in place for the 2015 Draft in Sunrise, FL, with Shanahan assuming GM duties, with Dubas and Mark Hunter in support and that draft appears three years later to be a smashing success, with Mitch Marner (who celebrates his 21st birthday today) an impact player, Travis Dermott showing the potential to be a top four defenseman and Jeremy Bracco on an NHL track within the next couple years.
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The Toronto Marlies will look to go up 2-0 in their best-of-seven series with the Syracuse Crunch at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
Toronto won 6-4 in a seesaw Game 1 on Thursday against the club that eliminated them in seven games last season and hope to maintain home ice advantage with a victory, as each team has been victorious in their four home playoff games.
TRAVIS DERMOTT! 🚨
— David Nestico (@davidnestico200) May 4, 2018
Marlies regain the lead, 3-2! 🔥#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/KcTdrtUgZI
Andrew Nielsen will replace Andreas Borgman in the Toronto lineup on Saturday. Borgman was out injured for four games during the first round and returned on Thursday, but was re-injured in the third period.
Syracuse may make a goaltending change after Eddie Pasquale allowed five goals on 20 shots in Game 1 and could make some lineup changes, depending on the health of forwards Matthew Peca and Gabriel Dumont, who were late scratches on Thursday and announced as day-to-day by Crunch coach Benoit Groulx.
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