I can also see why it could be difficult to fire Keefe after what was the team's most successful season in almost two decades. As disappointing as the results against Florida were, they still had another excellent regular season and experienced some mild playoff success. While I would have liked to see a new voice leading the charge behind the bench, I absolutely understand why that wasn't the decision being made here.

That being said, I think Keefe is on a relatively short leash, considering his contract status and the team's expectations.

Quite bluntly, the way this entire situation has played out from all parties involved, Dubas comes out looking like a conniving little b!tch.

Nobody who was involved with Dubas' last days with the Leafs came out the other end of this looking good. I think it tarnished everyone's reputation a little.

So this is a pretty tricky pickle. They have a trio of aging superstars (Crosby and Malkin are still dangerous) and maybe 2-3 play and play wingers that mesh well but have reached an expensive tier, but after that, it's a barren wasteland. There aren't even resources to re-tool. The only advantage is Crosby and Malkin are on sweetheart cap hits for a little longer. The only UFA market worth exploring is probably the NCAA/Europe avenue as there will be lots of opportunity (to play with legends) and net some resources at the deadline if they don't work out.

Yup. Hextall and Burke left the Pens in a bit of a mess, to put it lightly. Not going to be a quick or easy fix, and there isn't much time left to take advantage of Crosby and Malkin, who will be 36 and 37 respectively next season. They're in a weird spot where they can't really rebuild with those two on the roster, but they will need to soon.

Do I think Treliving is invested in winning a cup?  I think he would like to win a cup, but he lasted 9 years in Calgary with middling results.  It strikes me as the type of guy who knows how not to rock a boat, and if that is the case, is he really the type of GM that is going to take a chance to try and put this team over the top to win a cup?

I agree that his results in Calgary are largely uninspiring, but, it's not like he didn't make major moves to try to improve the team. There a number of big trades, some impactful UFA signings, etc. He was definitely trying to win. He just didn't succeed. Whether that was on him or ownership foisting a coach upon him, or a variety of other factors is hard to say. I don't think he's the best GM, but I think his track record is being seen in more of a negative light than it probably should be. He put together a really good, competitive team in Calgary. If they were able to convert on their chances at even an average rate and got reasonable to good goaltending out of Markstrom, he'd still be with the Flames. Their xGF and xGA numbers were excellent (7th and 4th respectively). It's just that their shooting percentage was the worst in the league and their save percentage wasn't much better.

I'm pretty sure Tkachuk had said he would have signed long term but the team would only offer him a bridge contract.

He was dealt because he specifically said he wouldn't sign a long-term deal in Calgary.

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/nhl-matthew-tkachuk-wanted-to-sign-long-term-deal-with-flames-in-2019-160851344.html

That was in 2019. Here's from now:

https://www.si.com/nhl/2022/07/20/matthew-tkachuk-contract-calgary-flames-trade

A lot can change in that time, and he could have easily gone public with a trade demand after Gaudreau left. Instead of being able to do a sign-and-trade to get maximum value by trading a player on an 8 year deal negotiated by the team he's going to, they'd be selling a player with a few years left before hitting UFA. If anything, they improved their leverage.

I'm pretty sure Tkachuk had said he would have signed long term but the team would only offer him a bridge contract.

He was dealt because he specifically said he wouldn't sign a long-term deal in Calgary.

I won't go as far as to say they were anti-Canada or anti-Calgary, but I think it was also pretty clear they both wanted to play in the States. Tkachuk's reported list of teams he would sign long-term deals with if Calgary dealt him there were: Florida, Nashville, Dallas, Vegas, and St. Louis. Gaudreau obviously had his sights set on Columbus, New Jersey, or Philly.

They are both American, so that definitely had some influence. I don't know if it was specifically an anti-Calgary stance, but Calgary was definitely further away from where they wanted to be than a lot of other NHL cities.

If Gaudreau had been a Leaf the whole time, I suspect he would have felt he was close enough to his family that it wouldn't have been the same issue. With Tkachuk, I'm not sure - though, being close to his brother and being on opposite sides of that rivalry also might have swayed his mind.

*Or, pure speculation on my part, did they hate playing for the coach the GM picked to coach the team?

https://ca.style.yahoo.com/nhl-report-multiple-flames-players-rescinded-trade-requests-after-darryl-sutter-firing-151715990.html

For whatever it's worth, most reports seem to say it was Calgary ownership that hired (and then extended) Sutter over Treliving's head.

Yeah. I'm sure Sutter had an influence, but it definitely felt like he was forced on Treliving rather than chosen by him.

And, as messy as the ownership situation is here, I can't envision that happening.

So excited to bring in the guy who gave Kadri a ridiculous contract, lost their young superstar for "reasons" and bungled signing their longtime star UFA player.

I'm really starting to think Shanahan may be a bit of a lunkhead.

I'm going to say having to stay in Calgary was the biggest factor for those moves. Gaudreau wanted to be closer to home and Tkachuk wanted to be not in Calgary. After that, Kadri was the best available UFA that could plug the holes left by those two wanting to not be in Cowtown. I don't put too much on Treliving there.

Neither the best nor the worst option out there. So, I give this the hearty 'meh' it deserves.

I've always figured Murray was a definite goner this offseason but if the Leafs don't re-sign ROR they might honestly have more cap space than they can realistically spend considering how bland the UFA market is. So who knows. I guess there could be a chance they keep him at a $3.5mil hit on the Marlies until maybe deadline time or if another team finds themselves needing a goalie (or as just insurance behind Samsonov and Woll).

I guess that depends on what other moves the team might be trying to make. I don't think he's a definite goner, but, if the goal of getting him off the NHL roster is to maximize cap space, sending him the AHL wouldn't be the most efficient option. Buying him out would actually free more space this coming season (but less the season after, obviously).

Best option, if he can't be moved at full price without tacking on an asset might be to see if a team would take him at 50% for free. ~$2.35M for an experienced backup is a reasonable price for a number of teams - especially those that aren't expecting to compete for a playoff spot and have some space available.

Honest question: why would moving off the Murray contract imply some sort of asset going with him to make it happen?  Would the Leafs not be in a position to simply eat the last year of his contract and send him through waivers to the Marlies?  If the unthinkable happens and Murray remains healthy and plays well he'd be eligible for callup or that much more appealing as a potential waiver pickup. 

Murray being in the AHL only saves the team a little over $1M on the cap. For a team looking the squeeze the most value out of every available cap dollar, it's not the ideal move by any means.

Also, here are some fun facts:

GMs who have won the Cup with multiple franchises:
Tommy Gorman
Jim Rutherford

Coaches who have won the Cup with multiple franchises:
Tommy Gorman
Dick Irvin
Scotty Bowman

Look at our shiny new GM!!!  We ONLY got him because he got fired from his last job!  Isn't he great!?!?!?!?!?!!!???!!!?  He failed so hard at his last job that he was fired, but things will be different this time!  WE PROMISE!!!!

Does the same apply to the team that hires Dubas?

Same applies to a huge swath of all GM and coach hires.

There are a lot of people that don't know the difference between various large wild cats

So, weirdly, this came up as a question around my house not so long ago, and, as it turn out, panthers are not a specific type of cat, but rather, a class of cats - specifically, most of the bigger cats. That leopard? It's a panther.