Kyle Dubas comes clean on mistakes that may have cost contending Leafs a Stanley Cup

Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas made headlines this week when he openly admitted he made mistakes early in his career, mistakes that may have cost a championship window for a team loaded with talent.

Leafs’ Latest’s Nick Alberga and Zack Phillips tackled Dubas’ comments in which he reflected on his early days running the Toronto Maple Leafs, specifically acknowledging trades he wishes he could take back. Among them: moving on from gritty forward Mason Marchment too soon, and shipping out Nazem Kadri, who went on to win a Stanley Cup with Colorado. Dubas said he was a rookie GM who made mistakes with a Cup-contending Leafs team.

On one hand, you have to respect Dubas for owning up to his missteps. In sports, and especially in Toronto, accountability is rare. But it raises the bigger question:

Why was a rookie GM handed the keys to a team already in Cup-contending territory? This is what Alberga and Phillips are asking:

That falls on Brendan Shanahan. Dubas didn’t hire himself. The Leafs’ president of Hockey Operations decided to roll the dice on a young, unproven GM with Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander in their prime. And the result? Years of playoff disappointment and a core that’s now older, more expensive, and arguably past its best shot, especially with Marner out and now playing for the Vegas Golden Knights.

The truth is, Toronto’s championship window might be closing… Yes, Matthews is still elite. Yes, Nylander just had a career year. But with salary cap constraints and no clear defensive identity, the Maple Leafs’ road to the Cup is steeper than ever.

Dubas may have made the wrong moves, but Shanahan put him in that position. And now, both men are gone, leaving fans wondering if the Leafs’ golden era was over before it ever really began.