Brendan Shanahan details timeline of Kyle Dubas negotiations falling apart

Brendan Shanahan met with the media to discuss Kyle Dubas' dismissal from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and how that wasn't always the plan for either side.

[@MrVisde]

Why does this sound like a court room testimony?

[@audibletapehiss3764]

It's the court of public opinion, no question that's how he's acting.

[@snoadog]

How to say the split was not amicable without saying the split was not amicable

[@ChadWiebe655]

Where is Kyle's office?

[@misterritter9854]

😂

[@mms8393]

I'll bet it is in Pittsburgh now....

[@MrVisde]

Sounded like he said the “Poor Performance Center” 😅

[@terrymcnickle332]

Actually it was in a corner of Shanny's basement. Apparently he's helping him pack now. Everybody got their fe fe's hurt

[@jamiemacdonellschmidt8034]

Interesting that Shanny would need to go into so much detail. This seems odd to me

[@anklebender5138]

This is their way of explaining why they indirectly “fired” him

[@ronbonora7872]

if he didn't give the detail you would have said not much detail, that is odd to me....he can never win!

[@tdunph4250]

I doubt that

[@tdunph4250]

I was waiting to hear how the two of them like their Timmies coffees and what type of muffins they normally preferred

[@audibletapehiss3764]

Seems like he wanted to get out in front of Dubas saying they fired him over money, by saying they fired him over a lack of enthusiasm.

[@gcmgome]

I hope Shanahan has someone in mind that he can parachute in as GM soon. There is a great deal of work to do over the next 6 weeks and beyond.

[@jonfreeman9682]

No he's got no one. He tried the rookie GM approach and now will go back to experienced GM playing musical chairs. Dubas is the best GM so far and proved his talents. He'll get an offer tomorrow from another team.

[@aggressivelychad]

From a Leafs watcher but fan of another team...I thought Dubas did a great GM job this year and that he should probably return (sans Keefe). But nobody wants to hear about how hard being GM is when you have players sacrificing their body and soul, most of them for moderate-to-low salary, while getting harassed by fans on a nightly basis.

[@ericstefko4852]

Agree with you on both points, keeping Dubas and getting rid of Keefe. Sadly his mistakes were early and put an anchor on the necks of the Leafs, with those stupid salaries and no trade clauses he gave a number of players (looking at the top 4)

[@jonfreeman9682]

He did awesome and is a Stanley Cup GM. He took the team to the best season ever with most wins in Leafs history. You just can't do better. Good luck.

[@chrislang6698]

what do you consider a moderate-low salary???

[@fritzderblitz]

Moderate to low salary, lmao!

[@chrislang6698]

@@fritzderblitz this person must come from a rich family. $750,000/ year is a low salary? lmaoooooo

[@bigdave8437]

I like Brendan. The board seems to really like Brendan. It's my view, predicated on the fact that the board AND Brendan wanted Dubas back, this should have been handled differently. We only have Shanahan's spin on the time line & who said what when, but what I don't get is why an alleged counter from Dubas on Thursday changed anything. All MLSE had to do was say "Kyle, this is our offer, there is no other offer. It was the basic framework worked out by Shanahan & your agent, so we understand you now feel a counter-offer is needed, but we are not moving on from the intial framework already agreed to in principle, so take 24 hours to re-consider & if our offer is not sufficient, we are moving on". Why MLSE reacted to a counter by tossing the whole package, tells me they were somehow offended that Dubas made a counter-offer under the circumstances. So what & why be so thin skinned about a counter? I think Dubas overplayed his hand frankly, but the knee-jerk reaction to his counter is just another inexplicable reaction to f*ck-all. This ownership group has just bungled another personnel decision....yet again.

[@stevetulloch9731]

Because Dubas blatantly negotiated in bad faith. That's why, assuming everything Shanahan says is accurate. As such, I'd disagree and say that this was a good move on Shanahans part.

[@russell7319]

I don’t think it was the money. It seems like it was more about a question of his personal commitment to the responsibilities/expectations of the GM position, and Dubois lack of clarity in addressing these concerns created at the presser. .

[@calabreese]

This is what happens when you take someone who’s only experience was doling out, suspensions and make him the president of a team. Shanahan has been there for nine years, and has accomplished next to nothing. As a president does he not have any accountability for the performance of this team? He came in fired the GM that he had, hired Babcock, which was a disaster. He brought in an experienced GM (Lamoriello), who, by the way, since leaving the leafs has had more success than with the leafs have had he intern hired an experience GM in Dubas and between the two of them, they have put the leafs in a difficult situation from a contract perspective. Shifting gears, Dubis appears to have used the media to garner sympathy for his family situation, and then he, and or his agent decided to use this as a way to try to get more money from the leafs, I’m not disagreeing with Shanahan not renewing his contract however, Shanahan did exactly what Mapleleaf sports and entertainment did. They put an inexperienced person in a job and are now paying for the result. Shanahan needs to be fired, Dubas ishould’ve been fired and now they have to consider whether or not they keep Keefe who has brought them regular season success only. He’s likely gone as well.

[@dougbell9543]

Tragically, Kyle Dubas foolishly played the ‘hard to get’ card and it backfired miserably. ✔️

[@SurfinCowboy5615]

Dude can have another GM job by Monday if he chooses. And he won’t have to deal with a clown org, clown media, or clown fanbase wherever he goes next.

[@johnnyp8051]

I wish more president/ Gm were this open about the process...

[@MrNelsonThall]

Who will replace Shanahan?

[@tdunph4250]

Does anyone else get the nagging feeling that once again, we are getting the wool pulled over our eyes??? Enter Barry Trotz

[@user-tn1sk7lh2e]

Blackhawks fan here - clearly Shanahan was P.O.'d that Dubas didn't just "roll over" and accept Shanahan's first offer. I thought negotiations were supposed to be a give and take. Not in Toronto.

[@NickRants]

He’s been eligible for extension since March, im sure he’s had multiple offers

[@AaronStephenTaylor]

I don't think that's clear at all.

[@zalapski9399]

Doesn’t it seem like trade deadline deals never work out? Hockey is a sport that relies tremendously on continuity on the ice, especially for defensemen- it’s not like baseball where you can just plug a hitter in the lineup.

[@jjmarz1001]

Tell that to Butch Goring and his four Stanley Cup Rings.

[@untexan]

They always work out for the team that wins the Cup

[@johnsummerhill8323]

The deals with Chicago and Washington in the week before the trade deadline seemed to throw the team into disorganization. They never seemed to gel after that.

[@zalapski9399]

@@untexan what was a big name moved at the deadline you remember either winning a Cup or going to the Finals?

[@Kaijuus]

So it was Kyle's greed.

[@mms8393]

It wasn't greed.... He was shopping his new contract that he's been offered by another team. You would do it too.

[@jleif7736]

NO it was the organizations greed for not willing to let Kyle to negotiate a contract lmfao.

[@saifonlawrence2044]

Get rid of Shanaham and Duffus.

[@wilseph1]

OOF. Kyle's agent got some 'splainin to do.

[@PaxMundi118]

Could you give us at least one detail, Shanny?

[@MisterMister5893]

Yeah this seems quite unnecessarily drawn out. The public didn’t need to know the minutia.

[@neegareenho]

No matter what Dubas does now with his life, nothing will ever be as bad as being the GM of the Leafs

[@jjmarz1001]

I though him going into such detail was completely unnecessary.

[@NickRants]

I think he needed too for the fans to understand why

[@jjmarz1001]

@@NickRants Makes him look soft. We're moving on. That's all that matters.

[@NickRants]

@@jjmarz1001 yeah but a Fan like my self didn’t approve of Dubas being let go. However finding out that he wasn’t 100% in and he took days to think and get back to shanhan with an offer, and then asking for more money, it makes me understand why and be totally okay with it.

[@wilseph1]

However it was highly entertaining!

[@lordgoogoo69]

Sure would have loved to be a fly on the wall in dem meetings boi

[@Lulu-Dash]

What a pressure cooker nobody wants to play for Toronto or Manage them. Everyone seems to go west in Edmonton 😮

[@MissHairTrix]

All of them should’ve been booted after so much failure

[@eliaspolychronopoulos4333]

I'm sure this comment section will be perfectly reasonable.....

[@dwight4626]

Paging Darryl Sittler,are you done combining yet ? Canada’s most expensive farmer.

[@savethisforlater]

The F is happening?

[@Conada1002]

Best decision he’s ever made

[@sunnavailable]

The high end approach such as hiring a business guy for GM doesnt work for the Leafs. You need someone that people want to hate but then realize his actions are benefitting the Leafs. Someone like Ballard but smarter.

[@dex4734]

Brad Treliving hello

[@Ali-ku1bj]

This whole press conference seems like it was set up so that Shanahan could throw Dubas under the bus to protect his own job. I don’t like how he’s casually “stating the facts” in his long story of how things went down. Who’s to say that what Shanahan explained is even true; and why even say this at all? Pretty low blow considering Dubas wasn’t there to validate anything. Now it’s blatantly obvious that Dubas & Shanahan didn’t like each other.

[@ronbonora7872]

who cares mate. Management has to manage!

[@Ali-ku1bj]

@@ronbonora7872 agreed. But Shanahan’s no better.

[@archeredutainment8453]

I'd say Mr. Dubas was "burned-out", ... it was a mercy release... it was a classy "hit". I'm sure Mr. Dubas is quite comfortable financially and knows what resources to call upon to help mend the family. However you call it, The Prez is right. The Leafs had no choice, it was a business decision. KD, thank you for your service. Peace be with you. Next! Mr. Keefe, good morning... ahhh, close the door. Ummm, no, this won't take long. Have a seat.

[@tigerwudz6010]

Lamoriello Babcock and Hunter must be laughing their ass’s off! Does teflon Shanny survive the latest leaf’s playoff debacle?

[@tjrich9349]

Babcock should hardly laugh after being out-coached in the playoffs.

[@ronbonora7872]

yeah he will survive!

[@ronbonora7872]

@@tjrich9349 Babcock has won the cup mate! LOL

[@penne9346]

​@Ron Bonora he should have won at least 4 with the teams he had in Detroit.

[@bobhenry6159]

Was all this a clumsy attempt to get more money? Bizzare.

[@alexsmith6131]

Disaster

[@goldenfuture6167]

Dubas is gone. Seems to have overplayed his hand. Shanahan was a warrior class player. After losing a playoff round and publicly whining about how tough the job is and deferring to your wife as the decision maker, that would have had to be the end for Dubas in Shanahan's eyes. Not reading the room and having your agent inflate an ask that already accommodated months of negotiated 'must haves' is, in any business, interpreted as bad faith. Sports is big business but at the end of the day it is just hockey. Anything other than Dubas stating "Tough to stomach the loss but instead, I focus on the awesome organization we have built, which anybody lucky enough to be a part of, knows is 1st class. We have a strong core of character guys who like me, want to win. We make moves to add depth and talent and I believe each year we have gotten better. We will continue to do so and if the leadership of MLSE continues to have faith in me, I am committed to doing anything I can to bring home a Cup to Toronto". #1 priority IMHO is goaltending. The young guy Woll looked good when called upon and might have the secret sauce but Samsonov was often caught out of position and gave up too many weak goals. Move Samsonov. Defense was outmatched with both Florida opponents and the Leafs need their Coffey, Leetch, Lidstrom anchors to transition up ice without turnovers. Emphasis on a combination of speed and nastiness. In terms of trade bait up front I think you need to shake things up. Not necessarily wholesale changes but certainly a blockbuster with at least one of Tavares, Marner or Mathews needing to go. A Losing attitude is a virus that needs to be cut out. Edmonton went all in this year and are also out in the 2nd round to Vegas, so perhaps there is a blockbuster McDavid and or Draissaitl for Mathews and or Marner. An explosive move that could shake up both rosters. Another move is Mathews and Samsonov for the #1 pick with Chicago. Do something bold to grab a potential generational talent and clear cap space. Is a coaching change warranted? Perhaps. Keep in mind NHL coaches earn their chops through experience and just blowing the coach out does not change a losing culture. A change could be positive and candidly now more likely but only if a world class guy is ready to step in. Joel Quenneville comes to mind. He took a bullet for what happened in Chicago but is a proven winner. Now it gets interesting because Stan Bowman, who won 3 Cups in Chicago (with Quenneville a former Leaf) could come in as a package deal. Shanahan with his relationships with the NHL HO could smooth things over for re-reinstatement for both. Thoughts?

[@joshc9916]

Have you applied for the Leafs GM opening?

[@goldenfuture6167]

@@joshc9916 Ha ha. I talked to my wife and she said it might be too stressful. Also, I couldn't afford the cut in pay ;)

[@trajancanada]

Goaltending is the priority issue? Think not. Other than Game 1 in the Tampa series, the Leaf goalies did well enough to give the "famous" power of the Leaf forwards a chance to win games. By scoring goals. You can't win if you are incapable of scoring goals in high pressure/high stakes games. The Leaf offence lost the Florida series. None of the "stars" showed up. Just like last year. And the year before. The Leaf forwards bear most of the blame. No "clutch" talent.

[@goldenfuture6167]

@@trajancanada We all have our perceptions. Hot Goaltending wins cups. Florida Panthers are a great example. On their way...

[@trajancanada]

@@goldenfuture6167 Fair enough.

[@jonfreeman9682]

Well Kyle Dubas is the best GM the Leafs ever had as Leafs set scoring records in regular season and made playoffs every season so that's a good result. With Keefe the results have been even better and they could have won a Stanley Cup. Big time loss as they can't do better than Kyle Dubas.

[@sidneyrobinson9186]

GM was fine would NOT of paid matthews so much as to handcuff the franchise but w/e. The coach keefe needs to be gone.

[@AaronStephenTaylor]

The better question is: Who the hell would walk into this mess with a month to make the most important decisions in recent memory for the Leafs? Any way you slice it, move Marner, Matthews or Nylander OR do nothing, there are no easy decisions to be made, and to have a month to figure it out? You couldn't pay me enough to voluntarily put myself under that much pressure...

[@zooski1516]

One person sees a mess another sees A LOT of assets and negotiating lean.

[@tdunph4250]

I am aging myself here a bit but I still think Pat Quinn rocked as GM and when he was coach. R.I.P.

[@audibletapehiss3764]

I'll take the job. First, I'm trading Marner. Yes, Marner. He's a winger. They don't call him Mitchy Playoffs. He's a great player, worth every penny, but that contract is financial mismanagement if your goal is to win, and my goal is to win. I'm acquiring three, twenty four year old, 6'3 defensemen who can skate with that money. I'm keeping Tavares and O'Reilly because up the middle still matters a lot, and those 2 are still going to be clutch, as soon as a certain other problem gets resolved. Which is why I'm taking the C off Tavares and putting it on Austin Matthews, I won't say where it "belongs," but rather where it "needs to be" for the Leafs to evolve. What else... vending machines, office staff, blah blah blah... oh yeah, Keefe goes, and I'm hiring Quenneville out from under NYR noses, which I can do because Gary and I are tight.

[@johnsummerhill8323]

With what the Leafs pay these employees, they will be lined up for the job.

[@johnsummerhill8323]

​@@audibletapehiss3764 Glad you won't qualify for the job. Prerequisit is a brain.

[@coreycorkum4442]

He should be gone as well ffs

[@neildillon837]

You can see Shannny is disappointed...he stuck his neck out choosing a rookie GM over guys like Hunter and Lou. And now Kyle shows his true colors...its all about him, and it always was.

[@redheads604]

uncle shanny won teh game of thrones

[@in2theheart]

Good for Shanny! Let’s go

[@SouthernSkeptic]

Remember 5 years ago when they signed Johnny Pajamas and he was the missing piece to a cup? How the mighty havr fallen..

[@barrydimmock5771]

Shanahan does not really do much per say, time he got his ass kicked out the door as well

[@michaelpanacheese604]

🤣 🤣 bye kyle

[@frankmollegaard1989]

Florida and TO swap goalies and TO is still in the playoffs. Period.

[@SouthernSkeptic]

This is so dumb. He can't afford a top goaltender becauae he overpaid his primma donna forwards.

[@frankmollegaard1989]

@@SouthernSkeptic They had a top goalie, sammy, but he got hurt. Damn good goalie. Good enough to be selected all star game. Looks like they may have skimped on a experienced backup maybe? IDK. Boston hit the wall, TO hit the wall and now Carolina has hit the wall. If the wall continues florida will win the stanley cup.

[@SouthernSkeptic]

@@frankmollegaard1989 lol.

[@Jabbablink2]

Lol this tutd is gonna turd us

[@s10096]

Why is this guy still have a job?

[@ronbonora7872]

why don't you apply for the job mate?

[@s10096]

​@@ronbonora7872 another leaf fan who sleeps alone in the night crying

[@s10096]

​@@ronbonora7872 Mr low IQ, it's just a question I put out there , no need to be an idiot

[@cheguevara8410]

Shanahan comes across as disingenuous and a snake here.

[@TheCrazyCanuck420]

Toronto, where the best golfers in the NHL go to play.

[@saifonlawrence2044]

They are now caddying for the Habs

[@artbach4136]

shanahandjob has to go he has lost the team

[@ronbonora7872]

yeah they will hire you mate! LOL

[@MarianneRobinson-wc9py]

Shanny looks old. Laffs have aged him.

[@AaronStephenTaylor]

? He looks pretty good to me.

[@justinturdeau2383]

Yeah. Looks like a weathered librarian lol

[@SouthernSkeptic]

Hes aging like a US president.