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Dubas To Pittsburgh, Treliving To Toronto

Courtesy: NHL.com

We finally have confirmation that Brad Treliving, former GM of the Calgary Flames, will be taking over the GM chair in Toronto and Kyle Dubas, former GM in Toronto, will take over in Pittsburgh as President of Hockey Ops.  Normally, this wouldn’t be of much concern to the Red Wings.  But, personally, I think this could have some important implications based on who you think the problem was in Toronto.

Report: Ex-Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was ‘at odds’ with Brendan Shanahan, had trades blocked
According to The Athletic, a power struggle emerged between Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan.

Very clearly, there WAS (and perhaps still is) a problem with management in Toronto.  The Athletic and other outlets have already reported on the complications in Toronto’s front office, namely the reporting structure for decision making and the ability of Shanahan (and, presumably, ownership as well) to flat-out nix a done deal.  So, what happens next depends on who you think was making bad decisions – Dubas, or the rest of Toronto management.

What if Dubas was the problem?

I think this is the lower probability.  But let’s entertain it anyway!  If Bad GM Dubas  is what shows up in Pittsburgh steering the direction and vision for that franchise’s future, I think he and the rest of the management group there go for a serious re-tool of that roster and completely blow up the Pens’ future to do so.  They’ll load up on offense like Toronto, a strategy that isn’t working there or in Edmonton to grab high-profile examples, and end up with nothing of note to show for it as well as a bare futures cupboard.

This also leaves Self-Proclaimed Hockey Geniuses Shanahan and MLSE Ownership still running the Toronto ship, maybe even tighter than they did with Dubas – although I expect them to give Brad Treliving a bit more of a leash than Dubas had, right or wrong.  If Toronto learns from their mistakes, they’ll find a way to get some real star-power on their blue-line (no offense to Morgan Rielly) and become a REAL power instead of a perennial meme.  If they can do that this offseason, they have a solid chance to keep a star-powered roster together for multiple years under the “stay and win” premise.  There coud be Cups (plural!) in that future, and that doesn’t bode well for what the Wings are trying to do.

What if Dubas wasn’t the problem?

I think this is the more likely scenario, given what we know about the power structure in Toronto, that Dubas was trying to make moves only for Shanahan (and possibly ownership as well) to nix deals, and the reporting that Shanahan is supposedly looking to keep the Leafs’ “Core 4” together – meaning the current problematic roster is actually the roster Shanahan and MLSE want.  This means Mastermind Kyle Dubas and whoever he brings in as GM might not kill the Penguins’ future to take Crosby, Malkin, and 21 other guys that missed the playoffs this year back to the Promised Land.  Yeah, they may take one or two more kicks at the can, but I’d expect that within the next 2-3 years big pieces could be available in exchange for futures – just when the Wings might need a trade or two to make a big playoff push.

It also means that The Hockey Meddlers are still calling the shots in Toronto.  They now have Brad Treliving as their new GM, who either thinks the same way Shanahan and MLSE ownership think or will be another figurehead GM that gets overriden when trying to make bold moves.  Both would be a recipe for more of the same this coming season, which absolutely has to factor into Auston Matthews’ decision-making process for next off-season.  Not only could Toronto stagnate this season, they could decline fast if players like Matthews don’t believe in Toronto management and leave.  With the Wings looking to rise in the Atlantic, the decline of Toronto AND the potential availability of talent leaving their roster could be a two-for-the-price-of-one benefit to Detroit.

All of this is, obviously, speculation and very much up in the air right now – there are no crystal balls or clear answers in today’s NHL.  But this will be interesting to watch over the next few seasons, and hopefully the Red Wings end up benefiting from all of this.

LGRW

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