Leafs GM Dubas: No plans ‘to go anywhere else’
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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporter
Kyle Dubas doesn’t know whether he’ll return as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But it’s the only position he would consider taking in the near future.
Dubas is on an expiring contract that’s yet to be renewed — in part by Dubas’ own choice. He spoke candidly about approaching the next chapter of his career during the Maple Leafs’ end-of-season media availability on Monday and how it won’t include a change of address.
“I definitely don’t have it in me to go anywhere else,” Dubas said. “It’ll either be here or it’ll be taking time to recalibrate, reflect on the seasons here. You won’t see me next week pop up elsewhere. I can’t put (my family) through that after this year.”
Having conversations and getting feedback from loved ones — Dubas is a married father of two — will play a primary role in how he proceeds from here.
“It requires me to have a full family discussion,” Dubas said of making his decision. “My family is a hugely important part of what I do, so for me to commit to anything without having a fuller understanding of what this year took on them, it’s probably unfair for me to answer. It was a very hard year on them.”
Dubas said he would speak further with Leafs’ president Brendan Shanahan in the coming days to gauge where the organization is at as well in terms of moving forward. The 37-year-old joined the Leafs’ front office in 2014 as an assistant GM and was promoted by Shanahan to his current role in 2018, replacing Lou Lamoriello in the process.
“I’ve had a good, long relationship here with Brendan and the owners. I’ll speak to them in the coming days. It’s been a very taxing year (on my family) and that’s obviously very important to me. And then we’ll all make our decisions and roll from there.”
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe was also brought on by Dubas after the general manager fired Mike Babcock in 2019. Dubas was GM of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2011, when he originally hired Keefe to coach that team. Dubas then brought Keefe to Toronto as coach of the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate, and finally over to the job with the Maple Leafs.
Keefe said on Monday he was giving Dubas space in figuring out his next path.
“Kyle and I have a lot of history,” he said. “I believe in a lot of the things he’s done here that have put us in positions to succeed. I’m hopeful that [contract] gets worked. Out of respect to him, I’ve left him alone and let him really sort through the things he needs to sort through and go through the process himself.”
Toronto has a long offseason to contemplate what went wrong. The Maple Leafs were ousted from postseason contention last week by the No. 8-seeded Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, a series in which Toronto fell behind 3-0 before losing in five games. It was a crushing disappointment given the Maple Leafs had advanced in the playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years after topping the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. Toronto had previously made six consecutive first-round exits from the postseason.
The sting of how things ended clearly remained with Dubas, and he pledged to learn from another bout of frustration.
“Perhaps the path needs to shift slightly,” he said. “It needs to be adapted slightly. And you get in between persistence and full belief versus being a little too staunch and rigid. And I think that’s the question I would take the time for myself in reflecting on the year.”
Dubas has remained staunchly behind the Maple Leafs’ core of talented forwards — largely Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander — for years. He’s repeatedly defended them against lagging playoff performances, which resurfaced again in the series against Florida.
Matthews and Tavares each failed to score a goal vs. the Panthers, while Nylander and Marner combined for three goals and six points. The Maple Leafs failed to tally more than two goals in any game against the Panthers, a primary factor in their early exit.
It’s long been a topic of discussion in Toronto about whether the time has come to trade a piece of Toronto’s core to help reshape the roster. Dubas was asked about that possibility again on Monday and shared it wasn’t out of the question.
“I would consider anything with our group here that would allow us a better chance to win the Stanley Cup,” Dubas said. “I would take nothing off the table at all. And I think everything would have to be considered.”
That assumes, of course, that Dubas returns to call the shots. Right now, he’s in limbo. But Dubas does have the support of Toronto’s longest tenured player to stay on.
“I think the world of Kyle,” said defenseman Morgan Rielly, who’s spent his entire 10-year career with the Maple Leafs. “I thought what he did for our team this year, whether it be his first meeting in training camp through the trade deadline right through to when I spoke to him three minutes ago, he’s a world class GM. I’m not in charge of what happens with his contract but everything he did was in the team’s best interest, and he put us in a position where we had a chance to play and to win and to succeed and ultimately the players are the ones that were on the ice at the end of the season.”
The first 12-team College Football Playoff is down to the final two contenders: Notre Dame and Ohio State.
The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish and eighth-seeded Buckeyes will meet Jan. 20 at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T. Whichever team wins will end a championship drought. Notre Dame aims for its first title since 1988. Ohio State’s lull isn’t nearly as long, as the Buckeyes won the first CFP championship a decade ago, but given how consistently elite they are, it seems like a while.
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Ohio State’s Ryan Day are also aiming for their first championships as head coaches, and Freeman’s past will be in the spotlight. Freeman and the Irish lost to the Buckeyes and Day in each of the past two seasons. But after a masterful coaching job this season, Freeman now will face his alma mater — he was an All-Big Ten linebacker for Ohio State under coach Jim Tressel — with everything on the line. Day, meanwhile, can secure the loftiest goal for a team that fell short of earlier ones, but never stopped swinging.
Here’s your first look at the championship matchup and what to expect in the ATL. — Adam Rittenberg
When: Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN
What we learned in the semifinal: Notre Dame’s resilience and situational awareness/execution are undeniably its signature traits and could propel the team to a title. The Irish have overcome injuries all season and did so again against Penn State. They also erased two deficits and continued to hold the edge in the “middle eight” — the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half — while dominating third down on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame can rely on front men such as quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love and linebacker Jack Kiser, but also on backup QB Steve Angeli, wide receiver Jaden Greathouse and kicker Mitch Jeter. These Irish fight, and they’re very hard to knock out.
X factor: Greathouse entered Thursday with moderate numbers — 29 receptions, 359 yards, one touchdown — and had only three total catches for 14 yards in the first two CFP games. But he recorded career highs in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (105) and tied the score on a 54-yard touchdown with 4:38 to play. A Notre Dame offense looking for more from its wide receivers, especially downfield, could lean more on Greathouse, who exceeded his receptions total from the previous five games but might be finding his groove at the perfect time. He also came up huge in the clutch, recording all but six of his receiving yards in the second half.
How Notre Dame wins: The Irish won’t have the talent edge in Atlanta, partly because they’ve lost several stars to season-ending injuries, but they have the right traits to hang with any opponent. Notre Dame needs contributions in all three phases and must continue to sprinkle in downfield passes, an element offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has pushed. And they finally did start seeing results against Penn State. The Irish likely can’t afford to lose the turnover margin, although they can help themselves by replicating their third-down brilliance — 11 of 17 conversions on offense, 3 of 11 conversions allowed on defense — from the Penn State win. — Rittenberg
What we learned in the semifinal: The Buckeyes have a defense with championship mettle, headlined by senior defensive end Jack Sawyer, who delivered one of the biggest defensive plays in Ohio State history. On fourth-and-goal with just over two minutes remaining, Sawyer sacked Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, forcing a fumble that he scooped up and raced 83 yards for a game-clinching touchdown, propelling Ohio State to the national title game. The Buckeyes weren’t perfect in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and they struggled offensively for much of the night against a talented Texas defense. But Ohio State showed late why its defense is arguably the best in college football, too.
X factor: The play two snaps before the Sawyer scoop-and-score set the table. On second-and-goal from the Ohio State 1-yard line, unheralded senior safety Lathan Ransom dashed past incoming blockers and dropped Texas running back Quintrevion Wisner for a 7-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, the Longhorns were forced into desperation mode on fourth-and-goal down a touchdown with just over two minutes remaining. All-American safety Caleb Downs, who had an interception on Texas’ ensuing drive, rightfully gets all the headlines for the Ohio State secondary. But the Buckeyes have other veteran standouts such as Ransom throughout their defense.
How Ohio State wins: Texas took away Ohio State’s top offensive playmaker, true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who had only one reception for 3 yards on three targets. As the first two playoff games underscored, the Buckeyes offense is at its best when Smith gets the ball early and often. Notre Dame is sure to emulate the Texas blueprint, positioning the defensive backs to challenge Smith. Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has to counter with a plan that finds ways to get the ball into Smith’s hands, no matter what the Fighting Irish do. — Jake Trotter
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Doug Greenberg, ESPN
Ohio State opened as a 9.5-point favorite over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, per ESPN BET odds.
If that line holds, it would be tied for the second-largest spread in a CFP national championship game and the fourth largest in the CFP/BCS era. Georgia was -13.5 against TCU in the 2022 national championship, while Alabama showed -9.5 against none other than Ohio State to decide the 2020 campaign. Both favorites covered the spread in blowout fashion, combining for a cover margin of 63.
Notre Dame is 12-3 against the spread this season, tied with Arizona State (12-2) and Marshall (12-1) for the most covers in the nation. The Irish are 7-0 ATS against ranked teams and 2-0 ATS as underdogs, with both covers going down as outright victories, including their win over Penn State (-1.5) in the CFP national semifinal.
However, Notre Dame was also on the losing end of the largest outright upset of the college football season when it fell as a 28.5-point favorite to Northern Illinois.
Ohio State is 9-6 against the spread and has been a favorite in every game it has played this season; it has covered the favorite spread in every CFP game thus far, including in its semifinal win against Texas when it covered -6 with overwhelming public support.
The Buckeyes also have been an extremely popular pick in the futures market all season. At BetMGM as of Friday morning, OSU had garnered a leading 28.2% of money and 16.8% of bets to win the national title, checking in as the sportsbook’s greatest liability.
Ohio State opened at +700 to win it all this season and is now -350 with just one game to play.
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