Kyle Dubas describes his first GM meeting, says he was scared sh--less
Taking the reins of an NHL team at the very young age of 29 would likely be a nerve-wracking experience for just about anyone. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is no different.
Dubas recently spoke to Sportsnet about his first GMs meeting at the helm of the Leafs. He wasn't officially GM at the time. It was 2015 and team President Brendan Shanahan has just fired Dave Nonis but had not yet hired Lou Lamoriello. Dubas, who was pegged to eventually become GM, was slapped with the interim tag along with Mark Hunter.
“Just don't say anything to anybody,” Shanahan told Dubas before he walked into his first GMs meeting with the other executives.
“I was scared s—less when I walked into Vegas. That was one of the most nervous times I've ever had in my life,” Dubas told Sportsnet during a Zoom conference call.
“I've known Ronnie Francis my whole life, so he was like the only person I felt I could talk to. I just went in, sat in my chair and took notes at the meeting and got up and left. But I was nervous as anything."
“I really didn't feel like I belonged in there. I'd only been in the league for one year, and we were still a month away from having Lou hired. So I just went in there, took my notes and got on the plane.”
Dubas also talked about his first trade as the newly minted GM. He acquired Zach Hyman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for centre Greg McKegg.
“[Florida GM Dave Tallon] was great to deal with. I don't think you could ask for somebody more straightforward and blunt about their position on it. It was kind of refreshing and actually very helpful to me, because he recognized it was my first trade.”
Source: Sportsnet
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YESTERDAY
MAY 20, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Dylan Coghlan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nic Dowd | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ben Hutton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mitch Marner | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Saad | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Colton Sissons | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Devon Toews | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jack Ahcan | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
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