Real reason revealed on what led Maple Leafs to part ways with Kyle Dubas!

Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was an open book when he met with media members to discuss how the team was not going to renew the contract of general manager Kyle Dubas.

Wanting to give a clear timeline of the process, Shanahan explained that he approached Dubas last offseason and told him he wouldn’t receive an extension. As we saw in his opening season presser, the GM took it well and the season went as planned.

The president then told Dubas after trade deadline that he wanted to sign him to an extension and felt they were making progress on an extension towards the end of the regular season. Shanahan then presented Dubas with an extension the day after the Maple Leafs were eliminated in the second round and thought the GM seemed pleased about it.

However, when Dubas met with reporters on Monday and expressed his concern about being the GM in Toronto, there was a dramatic shift in Shanahan’s thinking.

"While watching Kyle's (press conference), there was a dramatic shift in my thinking, because Kyle might not want to be GM, and I have to take that very seriously," Shanahan said.

“There was very real possibility for me I’d have to look somewhere else…”

Shanahan did not expect Dubas to share that publicly, but it consequently led to the Maple Leafs considering that they might have to change gears and look for a new general manager moving forward. It seemed to have been confirmed for Shanahan when a gap emerged in contract negotiations when Dubas expressed his desire to return as GM. Dubas's agent had also come back requesting a pay bump on the Maple Leafs' offer that was the final nail in the coffin.

Earlier reports on Friday emerged that there was a significant gap in negotiations between the Maple Leafs and Dubas' camp. Various sources believe that "Dubas demanded ~ between 6-7m for 5 yrs and total autonomy, and the Toronto’s offer was somewhere around $4m per year with the use of the jet to ease travel etc. Not clear on power. When Dubas didn’t budge they walked."

Shanahan mentioned how he does not consider Dubas’s tenure as a failure but mentions a need for “new ideas.” He also hinted at the possibility of hiring an experienced general manager moving forward, especially with the busy summer ahead, adding he’s not ruling out any candidates. 

Though the staff is wounded with the announcement on Dubas' departure, Shanahan is adamant that the team is ready to make good decision for the best outcome possible in 2023-24.

“There is no nice summer or finish line for having partial success.” - Brendan Shanahan

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