Infamous Mitch Marner Story From Rookie Season Comes Back Into Spotlight
Photo credit: The Athletic
Former Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas puts Mike Babcock's infamous Mitch Marner "list" controversy back in the spotlight in a recent interview on the Cam and Strick Podcast.
Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas went on the 'Cam & Strick' podcast to speak on his tenure with Toronto, his come-up and sudden rise from the OHL to NHL, and his career so far, while also providing some previously unknown information that sheds light on his time with the Leafs.
Dubas spoke on his time starting his career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, managing to become a GM at the age of 25, and his jump to the Leafs as a "wizkid" who brought a young face to leadership, coinciding with the Leafs new young star roster.
One moment however that caught attention was Dubas speaking on a well known incident that had in the past sparked controversy for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dubas Speaks On Marner "List" Incident, Reveals When He Found Out
Dubas spoke on a controversial incident that had happened when as a rookie, Mitch Marner was asked by then-head coach Mike Babock to rank the players in terms of work ethic, with Marner's opinions later shared by Babcock to the Leafs roster.
Assistant GM at the time, Dubas said that the matter was handled internally by then-GM Lou Lamiorello, with Dubas only having found out of the list when the story was published in the media revealing the incident:
Lou was the GM when what you're referring to; the list, and nobody else on the team really knew about that. Lou handled it with Mike.
Dubas also said Brandon Pridham, now the Leafs Assistant GM, was unaware of the story as well, telling the podcast neither has known that it had happened.
On Babcock, Dubas said it wasn't his place to say anything, noting Babcock having said the list was something he had regret over, but says that it wasn't a fit that was going to work out either way, although praised Babcock for building the foundation of the team's future success.
At the end it just became clear that the group wasn't going to take the next steps with him.
Kyle Dubas Speaks On Marner's Toronto Exit, Core-Four Contracts
On top of asking about Marner's list, Dubas was also pressed about the forward's departure from Toronto, and on how his roster management may have contributed to Marner leaving.
Dubas said that he didn't feel the core-four handcuffed the team financially because Dubas felt they were paid for their talents as they deserved.
Instead Dubas decided on putting the blame on what was expected to be a rise in the salary cap that ultimately did not come to fruition as the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the league's financial growth.
On Marner getting the brunt of blame from some fans, Dubas felt the team's losses were a group effort that the overall team didn't manage to get over the hump, but he didn't blame just a single factor for their playoff struggles.
Dubas calls Marner an "awesome person" and "a wonderful player", and that he hopes Marner heading to Vegas works for all parties involved, including Toronto.
While the whole list issue may be a thing of the past, it's still a blemish on both Babcock and Dubas' careers; whether they like to think so or not.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 16 | 1991 ANSWERS Infamous Mitch Marner Story From Rookie Season Comes Back Into Spotlight Was Kyle Dubas being let go as the Leafs GM the right move? | ||
| Yes | 1718 | 86.3 % |
| No | 273 | 13.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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