Kyle Dubas' Best Move As General Manager Has Now Been Confirmed

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Tyler Ball
September 7, 2023 (12:26)

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Kyle Dubas has had a controversial tenure as a General Manager in the NHL.

Many people think he is overrated while many others think he is underrated.

One thing is becoming more clear by the day and that is the best negotiation he has ever done is still benefitting his former team.

Dubas Re-Signs Rielly

In October of 2021, Kyle Dubas was still in his reign as the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

His best Defenseman Morgan Rielly was up for a contract extension at the end of the season. By the end of extension negotiations, Dubas was able to pull off a reasonable contract at the time that left both sides happy.

Rielly was coming off of a couple of subpar seasons as far as points are concerned during the 2 COVID seasons.

This led to Dubas having a bargaining chip with the defenseman who at one time had a 72-point season. Dubas and Rielly were reportedly close and good friends throughout their time in the organization together.

This led Dubas and the Maple Leafs to be able to bring Rielly back on an 8-year $7.50 million cap hit. At the time this was fair considering Rielly's recent production and potential upside but is now looking like an absolute steal.

Defense Market On The Verge Of Shifting

This offseason has seen an interesting trend in the pay scale for defensemen. One example is the contract that Jake Sanderson just signed yesterday. Sanderson signed an 8-year extension with a cap hit of $8.05 million.

This is the same length and essentially half a million more per year.

The difference is Sanderson is coming off of his rookie year where he totaled 32 points in 77 games. Sanderson has nowhere near the current ability or likely upside that Rielly had at the time of his deal.

Another rumored deal that could come down soon is an extension for Rasmus Dahlin who is projected to get an 8-year 10.5 million dollar extension. Dahlin did have his breakout season in 2022-23 with 73 points in 78 games.

This means that Kyle Dubas was able to keep the Morgan Rielly extension 3 million dollars cheaper than a player who has a career-high in points that is one point higher than Rielly.

This negotiation was an absolute masterclass from Dubas. His close relationship with Rielly surely helped. Even still Maple Leafs fans will have this contract to thank Kyle Dubas for long after he has been gone from Toronto.

As Read On - Maple Leafs Daily:
Morgan Rielly's deal looks even better now in comparison to Jake Sanderson's massive overpay