While the Buffalo Sabres continue to improve on all fronts, the underachieving Toronto Maple Leafs are dealing with crushing blows to their organization.
This time last year, the Toronto Maple Leafs were considered to be among the NHL’s elite while many felt the Buffalo Sabres would continue to struggle for another season. In a sense, those in NHL circles were right-the Maple Leafs excelled in the regular season and even beat the Sabres handedly on two occasions.
They even won their first playoff series since I was in the seventh grade. Then they fell flat on their faces.
Tension between Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas reached a breaking point which led to the latter’s ultimate departure. Shortly thereafter special assistant general manager Jason Spezza followed suit.
And don’t be surprised if more follow Dubas’ and Spezza’s lead. If this is the case, then new management will be seeking to bring in their own brand of people and ultimately, players. We’ll wait and see what becomes of the Leafs, but at this point, their overall disarray and instability is a gain for the Buffalo Sabres, who have been arguably the most stable of the NHL’s non-playoff teams this past season.
Leafs instability could play to the Buffalo Sabres advantage
Given the fallout between Shanahan and Dubas, don’t be surprised if the Leafs bring on someone with a different style than the former general manager. And this may require Toronto to take a “step back” for at least one season, if not more, even with a star player like Auston Matthews sticking around for at least another year.
I have no doubt the Sabres stability will continue to increase, with general manager Kevyn Adams having successfully implemented his strategy of building this team through the draft and acquiring young talent via trade (in the case of Eichel, Reinhart, and Ristolainen). Therefore, when the increasing instability that we’re seeing in Toronto right now sets them back, along with potential steps back for the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning, the Sabres chances of seriously contending for the Atlantic Division crown have dramatically increased.
If Adams can acquire a legit top four defenseman, and I’m thinking he will do everything in his power to get one, the Buffalo Sabres will even more fun to watch than they were this season. We’ll see what happens in the not-so-distant future.
Source: Mirtle: With Kyle Dubas gone, prepare for more Maple Leafs front-office fallout by James Mirtle, TheAthletic.com