If dubas was a good gm

Stammy and Kuch live in a state where they are not taxed. Meaning they can have a lower contract (and AAV against the cap) and still take home the same if not more money then JT and AM at 11M+. IF Kuch and Stam made 11M AM would be making 13M just saying. Also, Toronto has the best goal scorer in the league for the first time ever. I dont care if he makes 11 or 13M it is the price you pay to have that on your team these days and as a fan I love watching him.

Dubas isn't a bad GM - he got JT for less than an other team was offering Tavares and he honestly have AM the going rate for him. Nylander was our best player in the playoffs and he makes less than 7M so don't complain that is a terrible contract and it snowballed into all the other being higher. MM is slightly overpaid in my eyes but still does not make Dubas a bad GM.

While that’s true and we know why they take pay cuts in those states often. It’s also a benchmark for contract amounts from a GM perspective. A better GM gets Barzal on the cheap. Where I think the real issue lies with those contracts is term. They got max $ but not max term which will walk them into UFA status soon and just in time for when the cap jumps into the 90’s(maybe even close to 100M). Now those guys are asking for 15M instead of 11M.. imagine if this team could have kept hyman, added a Kreider/Buch and a Jones/Hamilton. In 3-4 years those guys are taking top $ or leaving which keeps the team outside of that elite contender status. Anyways, although I agree with your statement, there is also the counter argument from a GM perspective.

You really think Tavares would have signed here for 8.5 when San Jose was offering him 13 million.

You really think he didn’t offer Hyman 4.5 x 4 and then Hyman said “no thanks I’ll take 5 X 8 in Edmonton.

i don't like all these trades but the leafs would have been better off without dubas.

Youre kidding me. "A better gm gets barzal on the cheap"????? Are you for real? He just fleeced 2 teams (ARI and DET), is the 2 time reigning gm of the year, and has a ton of cap space to make a major addition to a team thats gone to back to back conference finals. You may have your personal differences about lou from his time in toronto but to insinuate that hes not a good gm is just disrespectful.