As far as Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan was concerned, all appeared fine with Kyle Dubas. Until it wasn鈥檛.
Last off-season, Shanahan told Dubas his contract wouldn鈥檛 be renewed immediately, that he鈥檇 be judged on his full five-year term. Mid-season, the two met at the Ford Performance Centre.
鈥淚 had seen enough in my mind that I wanted him to be our general manager going forward, but that he should go home and take some time to think about it. And if he was comfortable with that idea, I would start talking to ownership about that,鈥 said Shanahan.
鈥淜yle appreciated that. We鈥檝e had a good relationship the whole year. That day was nothing different. He came back to me about a week later and said yes, that he was comfortable moving forward. And he said his agent would reach out to me, but that he didn鈥檛 want this to be a distraction for him.鈥
Shanahan said he was ready to present a contract to Dubas at some point during the playoffs (had the Leafs still been playing) or, as it turns out, right after they were eliminated.
鈥淚 expressed to Kyle that night that as disappointed as we all were, I thought he had done a good job. It鈥檚 a tough time for the players. It鈥檚 a tough time for management. It鈥檚 a tough time for all of us. It鈥檚 a tough time for Maple Leafs fans and those in those moments after a loss. But we had a day off on Saturday.鈥
Here鈥檚 what happened next 鈥 a timeline, from Shanahan鈥檚 perspective, of how the sides ultimately parted ways. Dubas was contacted for his side of events, but had not responded.
Saturday
鈥淲e communicate a little bit through text.鈥
Sunday
鈥淲e had a team photo here. We went up to my office. I had another good conversation with Kyle. I presented him with what I thought was a framework that reflected what his agent and I had talked to, and a good finishing place in the effort to get this done as soon as possible. And Kyle took it. He seemed fine, or he seemed pleased to receive that news so quickly. We then talked about the hockey team for another couple of hours and we went home, and we knew the next day we were having exit physicals and media ... I would also say part of our conversation in my office was that this was hard on his family. It鈥檚 hard on all our families. It鈥檚 a difficult thing. It鈥檚 hard on the players, the parents. But it鈥檚 the job we choose.鈥
Monday
鈥淚t was not my intention to talk to the media until I had something settled with him. I expressed that I thought it was maybe a good idea if he didn鈥檛, either. But Kyle said he really wanted to talk to the media, and I respected that. He felt that players were speaking, coach was speaking, and that he should as well. And I respected his wishes ... While watching Kyle鈥檚 presser, I think at that point there was a shift in my thinking at that moment 鈥 a dramatic shift in my thinking as I drove home that night 鈥 that as Kyle expressed he might not want to be here, I had to take that very seriously.鈥
Tuesday
They did not communicate: 鈥淚n the next few days, I didn鈥檛 get any more clarity.鈥
Wednesday
鈥淲e did meet privately and we discussed this again for a long time. I had probably more questions than answers, and I did not have clarity. It further made me feel that there鈥檚 a strong possibility he might not want to be the general manager of the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs. So my focus then, again, continued toward the path of: What do we look like next year with a different general manager?鈥
Thursday
鈥淜yle had said that his agent was going to call me, and that he would reach out to me as well. I got a call in the afternoon from his agent and basically a new financial package was presented to me by the agent. The conversation was brief. I did not hear from Kyle throughout the day and I went home. And just before dinnertime, I got an email from Kyle saying that he did want to be the general manager of the Maple Leafs. At that point, if I鈥檓 being honest, I had gotten to a different place about how I felt about the future of the 海角社区官网Maple Leafs and what was best ... A gap had risen within the contract status. But nevertheless, the email that I received from Kyle, I just felt differently. And I felt that the long-term future of the Maple Leafs might have to change. I slept on it.鈥
Friday
鈥淲oke up, drove to Kyle鈥檚 office at Ford Performance Centre and informed him that we were not going to be renewing his contract. And that鈥檚 where we are.鈥
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