Elliotte Friedman offers new hypothesis behind Kyle Dubas' departure

The highly publicized split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kyle Dubas continues to produce fallout from all angles, with fans and media members alike taking sides between Dubas and embattled Leafs president Brendan Shanahan. 

It was Shanahan who announced Dubas' departure from the Leafs last week, stating that his thinking changed when Dubas appeared less than 100% committal to the job of general manager for next season during his season-ending press conference. Dubas has since removed all references to the Maple Leafs from his social media accounts, while also unfollowing them as well as Shanahan.

But in addition to his comments during his media session as well as the uncomfortable fact that the Leafs won only a single postseason series in his five years on the job, there may be an additional reason for Dubas not being renewed by the Leafs that would understandably cast a few more dark clouds over the franchise in the eyes of fans. 

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman appeared to imply that mental health could have been a factor in the decision not to retain Dubas in his latest "32 Thoughts" column: 

"In the 21st century, we talk a big game about mental health, family time, burnout and work-life balance. Those are important, and I’ll be the first to admit I could do a better job managing them. Buuuuuut, if you want to reach — and stay — at the top of your field, whether it be sports, business, politics, media, the arts, you name it: you MUST be all-in. It’s not for everyone, which is totally fine. We all decide what’s important to us. If you aren’t (or there’s even the suggestion you might not be), this is what happens."

Friedman then went on to opine that Dubas had requested a shakeup in the power structure of the Leafs organization, which didn't sit well with Shanahan as well as the rest of the higher-ups: 

"What I do think he pushed for — hard — was a seat at the table. Initially, I assumed that meant leapfrogging over Shanahan’s decision-making power, but several sources on both sides denied the language was that strong. At the very least, Dubas didn’t want the process to go: him to Shanahan to the Board…Board decides, goes back to Shanahan, then to Dubas. That says, to me, he wanted a seat at the table. He could deliver the message his way, in his own words."