Kyle Dubas Praised By Other GM In Surprising Declaration

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Julien Trekker
March 25, 2023 (10:40)

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Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues' General Manager, appeared on TSN1050's "First Up" Friday, where he discussed the Ryan O'Reilly trade and shared his opinions on Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas.

With the Blues facing challenges this season, Armstrong switched to a selling strategy before the trade deadline, trading Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O'Reilly, and Noel Acciari to acquire draft assets and initiate a rebuild.

He mentioned that he had reached out to the league to gauge interest in these players, among others, when he realized the Blues' season wasn't going as planned.

Kyle Dubas Praised By Doug Armstrong

During the interview, former Toronto Maple Leaf and co-host of First Up, Carlo Colaiacovo, inquired about Armstrong's experience negotiating with Kyle Dubas compared to other General Managers in the league. Here's what he stated:

"I'm a big fan of Kyle, I like him because he's direct. We pretty much end up close to the deals on our third call. We both understand what we're looking for. You want to present a trade that you can see logic in from the other side, and Kyle did that."

"Toronto is obviously a top team in the league and I give Kyle a lot of credit. He looked at what he needed. He put a lot of trust in his top six forwards and tried to augment that group and give them support."

Armstrong's praise for Dubas carries significant weight given his extensive experience as an NHL manager since 1992, having dealt with numerous General Managers during that time.

This proves that Dubas is respected among his peers, debunking any claims to the contrary.

As seen on Maple Leafs Daily -
Blues GM makes some surprising comments on Leafs GM Kyle Dubas