Kyle Dubas won’t return as Maple Leafs’ GM after 5 seasons

Kyle Dubas will not return as the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ general manager next season, the club announced in a statement on Friday. His contract is set to expire on June 30.

“I would like to thank Kyle for his unwavering dedication over these last nine seasons with the organization, including his last five as General Manager,” Toronto’s president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan said in a statement. “Kyle fostered a great culture within our dressing room and staff, and consistently pushed to make our team better season over season. We wish Kyle and his family the best moving forward and thank him for his valuable contributions.”

Dubas, 37, arrived in Toronto as an assistant general manager — hired by Shanahan — in 2014. He also oversaw general manager duties for the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies and led them to the franchise’s first Calder Cup championship in 2018.

On May 11, 2018, Dubas was promoted to general manager after Toronto opted not to renew the expiring contract of then-GM Lou Lamoriello. Dubas played a key role in building the Leafs’ nucleus from there, including what has become known as the team’s Core Four of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares. He also fired former coach Mike Babcock in 2019 and replaced him with Sheldon Keefe, whom Dubas had hired as coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds when he was general manager there in 2011.

Dubas put together an impressive 221-109-42 NHL record in the regular season as the Leafs’ general manager, but the team frequently stumbled in the postseason. From 2016 to 2022, Toronto made six consecutive first-round exits from the playoffs. The first-round series win this year over Tampa Bay marked the first time the Leafs advanced in a postseason since 2004. Toronto fell in five games to Florida in the second round.

During his end-of-season media availability this week, Dubas said it was a “family decision” whether he’d return to Toronto, making it clear the last year had been difficult on the homefront. Dubas also said that if he wasn’t returning as the Leafs’ GM, he wouldn’t be taking a role anywhere else, either.

Shanahan projects to immediately begin a search for Dubas’ successor. Dubas’ departure also raises questions around whether Keefe will return as the Leafs’ coach.

Shanahan is expected to hold a news conference at 3 p.m. ET on Friday.