I sensed another Gord Stellick-Ballard situation from the start. A paperboy with the title of GM.
Leafs '22/'23 Thread
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Well, far from a paper boy. Dubas did a lot of work. It's not like he was doing nothing or didn't make decisions. Shanahan would not know how to do a GM job I don't think. It's like would your boss want to do your job? I know for certain my boss would not know how to do my job. This is not like all the armchair quarterbacks out there where it's so simple. Trade anyone and get a boat load back and win all trades. Just because Shanahan oversees Dubas and vetos some of his recommendations doesn't mean Shanahan can do the job of a GM.
Things you don't know how to do you hire someone. You get referrals which is how Dubas arrived for Shanahan originally. Shanahan is also not the owner so the Ballard comparison is not apt. Shanahan is also trying to build a winner whereas Ballard was not trying to build a winner. I don't think Dubas was entirely incompetent either. Shanahan relied on him and would have continued to rely on him if not for the fallout. The Leafs made the playoffs every year under him. They lost all their Game 7's. They weren't that far off and Covid hurt them.
During Dubas time Panthers never got past the 2nd round until this year and this year they made the playoffs by 1 point. They needed Pittsburgh to lose their last game to Chicago. They were that close to being considered a failure. Tkatchuk never got past the 2nd round with Calgary and missed the playoffs 2 years. Calgary actually had more points than Florida this season.
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