Kyle Dubas Finally Breaks Silence on Core Four Era in Telling New Interview: 'We Adapted Poorly'
Photo credit: Pittsburgh Penguins - X
Pittsburgh Penguins GM appeared on the Cam and Strick Podcast to discuss his time with the Maple Leafs and revealed things could have been different had he adapted better.
There was a lot of debate and discussion when Kyle Dubas immediately took the Pittsburgh Penguins job after being fired by the Maple Leafs, and many criticized him for seemingly already being on the way out.
Kyle Dubas Explains His Decisions as Maple Leafs GM
But Dubas explained that wasn't the case on the Cam and Strick Podcast, and in addition to revealing he wanted to stick around, he mentioned that perhaps things might have been different had the team added the proper pieces.
Regarding his quick exit after losing another playoff round:
I didn't want to go, and that day [exit interviews] when everyone was doing the rounds I would have felt like a coward if I didn't talk to them. I was just brutally honest with them, and I did not know what was going to happen going forward.
What Dubas was referring to was his comments where he stated that his decision going forward needed a full family commitment:
My family is hugely important to me, and I can't say I want to commit somewhere until I have a more full understanding of what this year took on them.
While his tenure with the Maple Leafs didn't end as well as he wanted, it wasn't like Dubas didn't try. There were several moves that should have paid off, but didn't and it's how the NHL operates at times.
But the GM also mentioned that he didn't necessarily do everything he could have, and had the team adapted properly; things might be different:
I don't wanna say [the Core 4] handcuffed us because of needing to pay them; what handcuffed us was the salary cap being flat.
We basically used the template of what a lot of other teams had done that had the fortune of having high picks, and we added John [Tavares] in 2018; then that first year with all the extensions, then COVID trying to keep the league rolling, and they worked to keep things flat.
That's life. No one could have predicted it and we just had to adapt. I think in some cases we adapted poorly...We took a lot of shots in 2020, 2021 that weren't as successful and we adapted from that.
We didn't get to where we wanted to be but that's not on them, it's on us to make the right decisions around that group of players.
I think everyone wishes those players who have performed better as a group and individually in the playoffs, and I don't point to one situation but we didn't get it done.
We basically used the template of what a lot of other teams had done that had the fortune of having high picks, and we added John [Tavares] in 2018; then that first year with all the extensions, then COVID trying to keep the league rolling, and they worked to keep things flat.
That's life. No one could have predicted it and we just had to adapt. I think in some cases we adapted poorly...We took a lot of shots in 2020, 2021 that weren't as successful and we adapted from that.
We didn't get to where we wanted to be but that's not on them, it's on us to make the right decisions around that group of players.
I think everyone wishes those players who have performed better as a group and individually in the playoffs, and I don't point to one situation but we didn't get it done.
So what did Toronto do that failed?
Why Toronto Adapted Poorly
It wasn't like the team didn't make moves, but they definitely took a few gambles. Nick Foligno was supposed to come in and be a solid top-six weapon but only skated in seven games (4 assists) and wasn't nearly worth the 2021 first-rounder they gave up.
They brought in Stefan Noesen and David Rittich and neither man really helped out either, and are far gone from the Maple Leafs organization and thriving elsewhere.
2020 saw the arrivals of Wayne Simmonds and TJ Brodie, and while the latter was solid for a bit with the Leafs, he fell off a cliff and is in danger of not getting an NHL gig this season.
The gambles Toronto made in those deals on the surface are great. Brodie, Simmonds, and Foligno were perfect compliments to Auston Matthews and company had they worked out, but it was a long-shot bet to begin with.
There was a clear effort on Dubas' part to add what he thought were solid veterans who could elevate his team, but the money spent on them was a bit egregious and he could never shake the criticism surrounding them.
Perhaps that criticism was the straw that broke the camel's back. If Dubas' family felt they were getting a lot more unwanted attention from Leafs fans, then he had no choice.
But it leaves us wondering what could have been, had there been a bit of foresight from the beginning.
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