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Details of Kyle Dubas' counteroffer to the Leafs revealed.
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Details of Kyle Dubas' counteroffer to the Leafs revealed.

How much was Kyle Dubas demanding from the Maple Leafs? One insider has the all of the details.

Jonathan Larivee

The dust has yet to settle after what was an explosive month of May in the Toronto Maple Leafs front office and no doubt we will be hearing plenty more about what really went down in the days and moments that led up to the eventual firing of now former Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas.

There have been all kinds of reports pointing the finger of blame in one direction or another, but the only thing that all sides seem to agree on is that negotiations broke down at some point around the time that Dubas and his agent issued a counteroffer to the Maple Leafs.

While it's not believed to have been the only issue that led to the eventual split it was most definitely an issue, and recently Jonah of YYZ Sports Media published additional details on just how large of a gap there was between Dubas and the Leafs. As it turns out it was a pretty massive gulf with the former Leafs GM countering with an ask that represented an increase of more than 50% more than what the Leafs had offered. There was even mention of a private jet that Dubas would be able to use, presumably to help alleviate some of the familial concerns raised by Dubas during his now controversial end of season press conference.

From Jonah:

When the agent called Shanahan and told him that Dubas was indeed all in and shared a new financial structure I am told that the ask had gone from the $4m range to $6m over five years. I am not sure if the addition of the use of a private jet was originally part of the offer or added in later but it was definitely part of the package MLSE offered him and seen as a way to alleviate some of the travel and stress.

An additional $2 million per year is no small matter, even for an organization with pockets as deep as MLSE, but it hardly seems like it would have been enough to end the relationship is such a harsh and public fashion. It would see however that the ownership at MLSE felt differently, or simply felt that Dubas isn't worth the big money he was demanding.