Dubas joined the Penguins organization earlier this year after President Brendan Shanahan decided that the Maple Leafs would not renew his contract.
Dubas joined the Penguins organization earlier this year after President Brendan Shanahan decided that the Maple Leafs would not renew his contract.
Former Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is back in Toronto, but there doesn't seem to be too much focus on that.
The 38-year-old, now president of hockey operations and general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has returned to the city where he had his first NHL front office job as his team takes on the Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Although both teams have already played each other in Pittsburgh, this was still a game likely circled on Dubas' calendar.
There's a lot of history here: Five years in the playoffs, one series win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and plenty of relationships built within the organization while he was general manager.
One of the closest people to Dubas while he was in Toronto, though, was Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. The two have plenty of history together dating back to their time with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds.
But as both teams prepare to face off on Saturday night, Keefe says he hasn't thought about Dubas' return to Toronto, plus what this game might mean. Instead, he's just focused on his team.
"It's not odd to me, I'll be honest. [It's] literally the first time that's entered my mind today," he said.
"We talked about this when we were in Pittsburgh, you don't coach against general managers. We're diving into video, we're preparing to play against their team. All that other stuff is for you guys to talk about, but it's not on my mind."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1IBFjLaivE[/embed]
There'll be five players in Toronto's lineup tonight, plus Martin Jones (who starts), who were signed following Dubas' departure earlier this year.
The rest of the Maple Leafs that'll take to the ice tonight have either been signed, traded, or drafted while Dubas was with Toronto. (Aside from Morgan Rielly, who's been in the organization since 2012.)
The 38-year-old's fingerprints can be found — and will likely remain — throughout the Maple Leafs organization for a long time. And it makes sense, given he was with the team for nearly 10 years, from 2014 to 2023.
Ahead of the game against his former team on Saturday, Dubas declined to speak with reporters in Toronto. He did the same in Pittsburgh when the Maple Leafs were there on Nov. 25.
The Maple Leafs parted ways with Dubas in May after President Brendan Shanahan decided that the team would not renew his contract. Toronto hired Brad Treliving as their general manager a few weeks later.
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