NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 12, 2024
Kyle Dubas talks about his biggest mistake as Leafs GM, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour talks about the recent departure of several key players, the latest notable contract signings, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
TORONTO SUN: In a new book by The Athletic’s Craig Custance, Kyle Dubas talked about his biggest mistake while general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The book is entitled “The Franchise: The Business Of Building Winning Teams.”
“The biggest mistake I think I’ve made in my whole time there has been not taking care of the three incumbent contracts,” said Dubas, referring to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander coming off their entry-level deals. He felt they should’ve been signed to contract extensions on July 1 as they entered the final year of those ELCs.
Dubas also lamented not getting those contracts done before signing John Tavares as an unrestricted free agent in 2018.
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas (NHL.com).
The article noted complications arose getting those three under contract. An unnamed team threatened to sign Nylander to an offer sheet, driving up his price and resulting in his two-month absence early in 2018-19. Marner, meanwhile, staged a brief training camp holdout in September 2019 before signing his deal. Matthews signed his contract midway through the 2018-19 campaign.
Dubas was criticized for his handling of those negotiations, and for signing Tavares to a seven-year deal in 2018 with an annual cap hit of $11 million. However, Darryl Belfry, who worked in the Leafs’ front office at that time, defended the former Leafs GM by pointing out how COVID-19 resulted in several years with a flattened salary cap.
“Kyle would never say it, but I will,” said Belfry. “You have a world shut down, it’s a flat cap for multiple years and you’re stuck holding the bag on a projection. You didn’t miscalculate, it was an act of nature that beat you.”
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I credit Dubas for admitting his mistake with his handling of those contracts for Matthews, Marner and Nylander. Belfry is also correct for pointing out how the flattened cap adversely affected the Leafs following those signings. No one could have predicted a global pandemic and its effects on the salary cap.
Nevertheless, I maintain that the Tavares signing was Dubas’ biggest mistake as Leafs GM. I said it when the rumors emerged leading up to the signing and I maintained that position afterward. They invested $11 million on a player they didn’t need.
Even if COVID hadn’t happened and the salary cap kept rising, the Tavares contract still would’ve been a drag on the Leafs’ cap payroll, hampering efforts to address the important roster needs.
The Leafs were the third-highest-scoring team in 2017-18 but needed to shore up their goaltending and defense, especially the right side of their blueline. The investment in Tavares should’ve been used to address those issues.
If no immediate solutions were available, they could’ve invested some of that $11 million in affordable short-term fixes while keeping the rest to use when better long-term options became available through trades or free agency.
THE SCORE: Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour said it was difficult watching several key players depart as free agents earlier this month. Trade deadline acquisition Jake Guentzel, defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce, and forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen were among the notables who signed elsewhere.
Brind’Amour signed a contract extension in May. Since then, general manager Don Waddell stepped down and was replaced by Eric Tulsky. Meanwhile, trade rumors swirl about winger Martin Necas.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Hurricanes replaced those departed players with blueliners Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker and forwards such as Jack Roslovic and William Carrier. Still, the effects of that roster turnover will be felt next season, especially on the blueline where Skjei and Pesce were their second pairing.
TAMPA BAY TIMES: The Lightning avoided arbitration with recently acquired defenseman J.J. Moser, signing him to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.38 million.
NHL.COM: The San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Ty Emberson to a one-year, $950K contract.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Moser and Emberson were among 14 players who filed for salary arbitration on July 5. That number shrank to 11 with blueliner Jake Christiansen inking a one-year, $775K deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
The arbitration period begins on July 20 and ends on Aug. 4.
TSN: The Utah Hockey Club signed Tij Iginla to an entry-level contract. Iginla was their first-round pick (sixth overall) in the 2024 draft. Tij is the son of Hall-of-Famer Jarome Iginla.
DETROIT HOCKEY NOW: The Red Wings signed Michael Brandsegg-Nygard to a three-year ELC. He was their first-round pick (15th overall) in this year’s draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Iginla, Brandsegg-Nygard and San Jose Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson (11th overall) signed their ELCs this week, bringing the total thus far to 14.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Andrey Tarasenko, father of NHL winger Vladimir Tarasenko, died suddenly in Russia at age 56. Andrey was the developmental coach and trainer for KHL club HC Siber.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: My condolences to the Tarasenko family and HC Siber.
Tavares was his biggest mistake. 11 mil was bad enough. The NMC worse. He is a very good player, but not 11mil.
” but needed to shore up their goaltending and defense, especially the right side of their blueline. The investment in Tavares should’ve been used to address those issues.”
But he never did. Ever. His entire time he was there, it was balls-out offense. “we’ll outscore em” And sometimes that proved effective but even a google search of what happens statistically in the playoffs would have told the man to get better defense. And I’m pretty sure he should have hung on to Frederik Andersen.
Dubas paid those kids too soon… and JT contract made no sense as good as he is…. hometown return should of paid him 9milll…which would make a massive different. if the Leafs could of put the Bruins away in 2019 this is a different conversation in 2024……..
you
Tavares was a mistake, due to the team needs elsewhere, but the contract size was reflective of the market. Tavares was a sought after UFA with a lot of hockey in front of him so you are going to pay big bucks for that. However, Mathew’s and Marner were paid as if they were UFA’s are they were not. Those two contracts were huge fumbles as they did not need to be signed to such big contracts. They should have been given substantial raises from their entry contracts, but more like bridge contracts, not UFA like amounts. Nylander was handled somewhat better but still not great. I would add Reilly’s contract is a mistake too, as he is more like a decent second pairing dman, whereas they paid him at the time like a first pairing man. Dubas was caught believing the media hype rather than his own analysis. Add to that Dubas’ failure to address the team needs with remaining assets, and collectively his tenure with Toronto was not good. I would say that what he does in Pittsburgh will determine if he has a further career as a NHL GM or not.
I agree JT on open market gonna get that 11 but Dubas could of sold him on the championship and a discount to keep the roster stacked.
Look at Sens paying some kids early in my opinion early too…………… i am sure there are other examples. The Rangers had Laf playing 3rd line minutes but next summer he going to get 8-9million.
It’s weird how the flattened salary cap apparently only affected the Leafs.
Whalercane you sure it was only the Leafs? You should take a better look. Ignorance is weird, don’t ya think?
I guess there is no end to beating a dead horse, heck it’s fun!
It’s just strange that 30 other teams (discounting Coyotes) had the exact same CAP issue, but it seems that only the Leafs (and/or Leafs fans) consistently claim that it screwed up their roster construction.
I’m pretty sure it screwed up the other teams’ plans too, but they dealt with it quietly.
Whalercane… I think you need to indicate sarcasm for Ron Moore.
Unless Ron was aiming for sarcasm… in which case it missed horribly.
A couple of days ago I thought we finally agreed that, HOW the Leafs got where they are vis-a-vis the bloody cap was an exercise in futility.
The bottom line is, who cares who was at fault. It is what it is (unless someone wants to bring Teflon Shanahan’s considerable contribution to the situation and that should be good for some insightful opinions).
Until then, the focus now should only be on the ways and means to get out from under that financial rock.
Dubas is 0 for2 as a general manager!Why does he still have a job?Looking at next season I see Vegas and Carolina struggling to make the playoffs! Both took big hits this off-season!
Whaler dealing with something quietly when you don’t bring it up in the first place, is hard to do when it’s not you starting it, right?
It’s like an echo chamber…
Dubas’ Pittsburgh legacy already defined by the EK trade. Granted he was handed a team with the legacy deals to Malkin+Letang but somehow EK made the powerplay less consistent. 8787 …
An then he advocated trading him back to Ottawa as a means of getting out of that portion of his cap Hell.
No – thank – you!
He dumped a bunch of dead money and a 1st for a good top three d man. That trade is still a win for the pens. Though not as big a win as I hoped.
Every game I saw the Jets play against the Sharks last season, Granlund looked like the best player on the ice for them.
Signing an RFA winger to an $11M contract is… not smart.