Brinbe wrote:ATLTimekeeper wrote:Brinbe wrote:Dubas is the last guy they should be firing. His moves have worked out perfectly, especially adding ROR/Acciari/Schenn and obviously Knies was his guy too. They've squeezed that cap to absolute limit.
You have to look at the big picture for his term, not just the end of the line moves that may or may not work. He took over in 2017, so in 5 drafts he has one total drafted player on this current team, and that guy has played 6 NHL games.
He's had two other draft picks have consistent roles in the NHL, Rasmus Sandin, who he had to sell at the deadline because he was capped out, and Sean Durzi, who was packaged with a first for Jake Muzzin. Their cap is always sweaty. They're constantly looking for goaltenders, and scrounging the bargain bin for answers.
This team that he's finally assembled resembles the successful archetypes for playoff teams that he's resisted in his time, by biasing towards smaller players, everything off the rush offense that would get shut down in the first round every year. He wasted good years off their core, who are primed to get even more expensive. Most of his deadline deals in the past flopped. The hometown vets he brought in to babysit were all washed. The Kadri trade was a disaster. They need more than a first round win to re-up.
1000% Agree to disagree. Dubas definitely is not perfect but if you're really looking at the bigger picture, which you're paradoxically not doing lol, there's way more good there.
I'm well aware of Kyles' foibles and none of what you've said has moved me at all. He's constantly built 100 pt teams, clearly learned from his mistakes in terms of roster building, and he can't be faulted for a league with an asinine playoff system and a cap that hasn't gone up in some time. Though the team certainly deserves lots of sht for the playoff failures, particularly against the Habs and Jackets.
You're right that he's constantly scrounging but he's good at it. And though he's lost some trades, he's won a sht-ton of them too.
It's not like the pipeline is bare either. There's Robertson, Niemala, Minten and you gotta hope Amirov recovers from his medical issues. The NHL draft is a crapshoot and though they don't have the strongest system, I think you'll see some of the guys from his past few drafts start to break through in the next few years.
Otherwise, he's built a damn good team and I think his ability to learn from his mistakes is a good trait. I think the majority of smart Leaf fans know he's a good GM.
The big picture isn't looking forward to exciting prospects who haven't made it but accepting that most of his prospects haven't made it and they've thrown picks away for vets that haven't moved the needle at all.
The majority of smart Leaf fans are happy with a GM that takes a progressive approach, but if the results are one playoff round win, cap hell and a questionable prospect pool it's time to look at other smart GMs. What's best about the team was inherited, the best picks made and championed by other people in the organization long gone. If the draft is a crapshoot than what's the return on prospects/picks traded for 'non-crap shoot' talent?