Sheldon Keefe Takes a Shot at Kyle Dubas

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Graham Montgomery
March 31, 2024 (12:05)

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe took a subtle jab at Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas today. Dubas was previously with the Leafs as he famously failed to build a team that could win in the playoffs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have famously struggled to find consistent depth players that can perform well in recent years. The team has seen players like Zach Hyman, Jared McCann, Mason Marchment, Trevor Moore, and Alexander Barabanov, among others, slip through their fingers. A huge reason for that is former general manager Kyle Dubas, who made the final decision to let these players go. Today Sheldon Keefe talked about how the lack of consistent depth players has hurt the team.

"I don't know how many players I have coached in my time here, but I have coached a lot of players, and a lot of guys have come and gone. Some continuity and having guys you are bringing along who are growing with the team is really important. In McMann and Benoit's cases, we think they are guys who can continue to grow with the group."

New general manager Brad Treliving has already made an effort to address this issue. While he added significant depth pieces on one-year deals over the offseason in the form of Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, he's also taken measures to add some continuity to the lineup. Earlier this month he signed Simon Benoit to a three-year extension.

Simon Benoît has re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs to a three-year extension with an AAV of $1.35M. That's a fair deal for both sides. Benoît has been excellent defensively this year & he is not playing in sheltered minutes. He's a good 3rd pairing defensive defenseman.

He also signed Bobby McMann to a very similar two-year deal along the same lines as Benoit. Combined, McMann and Benoit have both been huge surprises for the Leafs this season as both were expected to play either in the AHL or in a very minor role at the NHL level.

Bobby McMann, signed to a 2x$1.35M extension by TOR, is a utility winger who's created scoring chances and goals at an efficient rate this season. #LeafsForever

Now it seems the Leafs will finally have a little bit of consistency throughout their lineup as they look to continue building towards a Stanley Cup championship.

Source MapleLeafsDaily: Sheldon Keefe appears to take a shot at former Leafs GM Kyle Dubas