Kyle Dubas hints at a major change in philosophy for the Leafs.

Dubas makes some interesting statements on Monday.

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HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Kyle Dubas hints at a major change in philosophy for the Leafs.
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I don't think anyone would argue that the modern day Toronto Maple Leafs are an organization that is heavily focused on players that have good analytics and of course a good degree of natural talent, but another disappointing playoff exit may have brought something of a philosophy change to the organization. 

On Monday morning Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas spoke to the media and it was during that availability that he voiced his commitment to building what sounds like a grittier team moving forward. Dubas did not come right out and say that he would be looking to add truculence, a word that fans in Toronto will be all too familiar with, but it was clear based on his comments that he feels the Maple Leafs need more of an edge to them if they are to compete with some of the powerhouse teams in the National Hockey League.

According to NHL insider Chris Johnston Dubas stated that it was his "priority" to become a harder team to play against and again according to Johnston it sounds like Dubas intends to make moves this offseason that will address those concerns. Specifically Dubas plans to address those needs with new personnel, personnel that the general manager intends to acquire either via trade or through free agent acquisitions. 

I believe we already saw a hint of this when the Maple Leafs acquired veteran forward Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings, but I suspect that Dubas will be looking for something of a more long term solution this time around, although that is purely speculation on my part. Unsurprisingly the Leafs general manager gave no hint regarding what players he might be targeting to shore up what he feels is a deficiency on his roster, so at this point your guess is as good as mine.


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