Unique challenges await Dubas, Leafs
RT P format puts team back in qualifying round
After being teased for years about his youth and inexperience, Kyle Dubas is at last on level ground with every other NHL general manager.
None of them ever had to guide their teams through this kind of season, halted four months by a global pandemic, restarted with a daring midsummer 24-team tournament with COVID-19 still not eliminated and last week’s new CBA changing the big picture.
On the eve of Monday’s opening of Toronto Maple Leafs’ training camp for Return To Play, the 34-year-old Dubas discussed with the Toronto media challenges facing him and his club: Q What pressure does the flat cap in the CBA put on you to win this tournament while you can keep this roster together?
Kyle Dubas: “I don’t look at the situation and say this is our only chance. If we didn’t have our core guys locked up for this year and next, I would maybe feel a little bit differently. We have the 2019-20 contracts to finish and the ’20-21s.
“I know that seems to be the narrative about the team. But I don’t feel that this season there should be any added pressure. The players have an expectation and we have an expectation that we’re going to be competitive and, of course, trying to contend to win the Stanley Cup.
“If we were facing a decision of our core players, we’d have to make a major move. We’re going to have some space to take care of our RFAS and potentially look at some of our own UFAS. We have time. (But) with the cap flat, our development system will be paramount.” Q Do you anticipate any Leafs will opt out of RTP by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline, and what do you think of players who have already done so?
A “I don’t think it looks right now that any of the players we have invited will be opting out, I don’t have any inkling of that. The players have mostly all been here for quite a while now, at least a week off the top of my head.
“I think ( opting out) was a great thing for the league and the PA to do. If any of our players were to opt out for any reason, we’d be fully understanding. This is such a difficult time in the world, and whether it’s for reasons of underlying health or just general family reasons or whether you’re just not comfortable, I certainly respect any of our players who would feel that way and any player in the league or staff member that would feel that way.” Q Are there any advantages to being at Scotiabank Arena with 11 other teams?
A “There is a bit of familiarity. But there’s not going to be any fans, no game operations. There’s also a challenge of the fact that your family is 10 minutes away, and on July 26 when we move in (the hotel), we’re all going to be sealed in away from them.
“We know the rink, but we’re going to be abiding by such strict protocols and entry and exit and we’re not getting any preferred treatment in terms of hotel or facilities. I think the league has done a pretty good job of keeping that very fair. The only advantage is we don’t have a flight to get here.” Q What do you think of the RTP format?
A “The NHL has done a great job of adapting to find a way to certainly recognize that playoff races weren’t over and to have teams that were in the race kept alive.
“Despite the fact if the season had just ended on
March 10 we would have been in the playoffs and scheduled to play Tampa, I don’t think that it’s unfair that we have to play a qualifying round whatsoever because we were still supposed to have 12 games left to try to either make up some ground or secure our space.
“It’s very fairly set up even though we’re one of those teams that’s gone from playoffs into a qualifying round like a number of others that are seeded five through eight.
“None of us have ever been in a series where seven of the teams are staying in the same hotel. It’s like minor hockey where if the game in front of you runs a little bit long, you’re kind of waiting for that game to end in overtime or what have you.” Q What will this be like for Sheldon Keefe?
A “When we made the coaching change (Mike Babcock being fired in late November), Sheldon had one morning skate to get the team up and running for a game that night. Now he’s had essentially a full build up with the coaching staff. And we’ll have a two-week camp to get the players up and rolling, so I think there’s some good fortune for us on that end as well.
“We’re excited to see that, not only for the short run, but I think it’s a great experience for Sheldon and will help us and help him. And we’re largely past some of the injuries that had plagued us at the end of the season. We’re certainly excited to see (a fully healthy blue line).” Q The team goes against Columbus without a lot of recent playoff success.
A “I’m optimistic. This is our fourth series. We do have experience; guys know ebbs and flows now. Guys on the team that have been in the American League and with the Marlies have played in a lot of series and most of them have played in bestof-five as well. I think all of that is great to handle and to certainly go back on for experience as we kind of work our way through it.
“With regards to our chances, I think like every team now, we’re largely past some of the injuries that had plagued us at the end of the season and those players are due back ( Jake Muzzin, Ilya Mikheyev).
“( The Blue Jackets) have a very specific organizational culture and ethos about them. They’re extremely hard- working ... they’re obviously a very tight- knit group.”
I’m optimistic ... we do
have experience.