Kyle Dubas confident Leafs will be prepared “regardless” of draft scenario.

Dubas confident the Leafs will navigate the draft.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Kyle Dubas confident Leafs will be prepared “regardless” of draft scenario.
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The National Hockey League appears poised to host an early June draft in spite of the fact that the league has yet to complete the 2019 - 2020 regular season and the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This has led to a ton of questions and a ton of concern from agents and general managers, with many speculating that cap strapped teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs could face the biggest challenges under this new scenario.

The draft is normally a time NHL teams would use draft picks to move bad contracts or clear cap space, but given that no one knows how the playoffs will play out yet teams will likely want their rosters to remain whole for those very playoffs. In spite of the fact that he will likely be facing some unique and unforeseen challenges in arguably hockey's most intense market, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas told the Associated Press this week that he believes the Leafs are well prepared for any potential draft scenario, including the proposed June draft. 

“We’re just going to try to prepare as though it’s going to happen,” said Dubas as per the AP. “It’s not going to be normal regardless of what it is, so we’re fine with whatever is decided.”

There have also been rumors that the salary cap for the 2020 - 2021 regular season will be drastically impacted as a result of this stoppage, another unexpected consequence that will have the biggest impact on cap teams like the Maple Leafs. General manager Rob Blake of the Los Angeles Kings also expressed comments similar to those made by Kyle Dubas, indicating that general managers may be resigned to the fact that no draft scenario this season is going to resemble what we have all become accustomed to.

“We’ll have to work with it, obviously,” Blake said. “The one thing we know for sure is nothing will be status quo, so whether it’s prior in June or later, you’re going to have to make the necessary adjustments.”

Although the idea of a draft is a controversial one for many it seems clear that the NHL is intent on moving forward with their plan, and that NHL GMs will be forced to make it work for their respective organizations.

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