It’s been a long while! Welcome back to the GM Bracket Battle, where you’re helping to decide who is the best General Manager in the National Hockey League today. So far, Steve Yzerman, David Poile, Kelly McCrimmon, Don Waddell, and Julien BriseBois have made it through to the second round. Tonight, we have an all-Canadian matchup:
13 – Toronto Maple Leafs: Kyle Dubas
There is arguably no GM in the league who is more scrutinized than Kyle Dubas. Beyond the fact that he’s captaining the ship in the fishbowl that is Toronto, he’s also viewed (unfairly) by many as a sort of referendum on the analytics movement.
The case for Dubas is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, there’s the core that he’s managed to retain and build around; any team with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares up front is going to be a force in the offensive zone. The flip side, though, is that he hasn’t been able to complement those core forwards with sufficient depth or competent defencemen. Where he’s tried to do so, the chosen names have been underwhelming or questionable (e.g. Cody Ceci, Wayne Simmonds).
Ultimately, the Dubas-led Leafs are a powerhouse team in the Atlantic Division. However, the unenviable cap situation he’s created in building that powerhouse might be what prevents the team from taking that next step.
20 – Calgary Flames: Brad Treliving
Much like Dubas in Toronto, the question for Brad Treliving in Calgary is whether he’s going to be able to build a team that can take that next step. General Manager of the Flames since 2014, Treliving has been at the helm during the development of the team’s very effective core, and has built a perennial playoff roster. Even so, they’ve been unable to match the heights established by the upstart Vegas Golden Knights. “Good, but not good enough” might as well be the motto in Calgary.
Treliving should get credit for trying to solve his team’s problems, though. Just this offseason, he went out and signed Jacob Markstrom to a mammoth free agent deal. Assuming that Markstrom is even close to the goaltender he was in Vancouver, it’s a big step forward for the Flames in an area that was previously a weakness.
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»