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Dubas needs to boldly go where he has not gone before

May 24, 2022, 2:40 PM ET [320 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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The NHL got the first qualifier for their Final Four, as the Tampa Bay Lightning swept the Florida Panthers and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 2-0 win on Monday. The Lightning is seeking to be the first team in 40 years to win three consecutive Cups thanks to their superior talent recognition in finding gems like Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Ondrej Palat in the lower rounds on top first-round gems Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Hedman, and Vasilevskiy all took deals under market value because of the Florida state tax situation and to keep a potential dynasty together that former and current GMs Steve Yzerman and Julien Brisebois established that as a team philosophy.

The precedent set by the Toronto Maple Leafs in December 2018 was the wrong one, succumbing to William Nylander’s demands on a six-year deal for nearly $7 million per season. That led to Toronto not getting Auston Matthews on an eight-year max deal as Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, and other top picks had signed, but a five-year deal for (at the time) the second-highest salary, and giving Marner nearly as much as Matthews and John Tavares on a six-year extension.

Due to the allocation of nearly $40 million on four forwards and the salary cap not going up as GM Kyle Dubas and other clubs had anticipated before the COVID pandemic, the Leafs had to make the choice to not re-sign Zach Hyman last summer in favor of locking up defenseman Morgan Rielly on a max deal.

Had Dubas been firmer from the outset, negotiations with Nylander, Matthews, and Marner may have yielded more team-friendly outcomes for the Leafs and resulted in more cap flexibility over the last couple seasons.

Tampa will be in cap jail this summer and may lose Palat to unrestricted free agency as they did Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow last summer, but they have two (and potentially three) Cups in their back pocket.

After the signing of Mark Giordano last weekend, the Leafs have just over $7 million in available cap space, but will have trouble affording free agents Ilya Mikheyev and Jack Campbell and have not been able to get out of the opening round for six straight years.

While moving out the likes of Petr Mrazek, Alex Kerfoot, and Justin Holl could give Dubas more maneuverability to tinker around the edges, the only avenue to make an upgrade and change what has been a losing formula is clearing a significant salary such as Muzzin or Nylander with multiple years left.

Dubas indicated last week that he is open to anything that would improve his club and did not rule out any avenue. We will see over the coming weeks whether that statement means going where the Leafs GM has refused to go before.

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