July 22nd 2014, a date that will live in infamy.  The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Kyle Dubas, formerly the General Manager for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, former scout, agent, and fancy stats pioneer as assistant general manager. While he rankles at the comparison to famed Moneyball GM Billy Beane, Dubas does have the statistical bona fides to change the way game is being played in Toronto. Here are five key points from the hire: The Leafs will use their analytics budget this year Dave Nonis nearly broke twitter last season when he indicated that the Maple Leafs have had money allocated for...

Rosters are not set in stone yet, but the dust is starting to clear on the summer moves and we are starting to get a picture of what next season’s NHL landscape will look like. For the Toronto Maple Leafs specifically, we still need to find out the fates of James Reimer and Cody Franson -- beyond that, here are some thoughts on what has transpired thus far: 1 - One quietly interesting note and a bit of a strange trend this summer has been depth NHLers getting long-term deals. A few questionable players who got three year deals include:...

Based on what we have been told, we would be looking at a notably different roster if the Toronto Maple Leafs' plan A this summer had come to fruition. Dave Bolland would still be a Leaf, making $4.75M/year for five years, according to Darren Dreger. https://twitter.com/Hope_Smoke/status/484395392248053760 Josh Gorges would be a Leaf in exchange for Cody Franson, according to Dreger as well. https://twitter.com/Hope_Smoke/status/484396310939045889 Perhaps they would have signed Dan Boyle instead of Stephane Robidas, too, who Pierre Lebrun noted the Leafs were very serious about for days. https://twitter.com/Real_ESPNLeBrun/status/481848384995614720 From the outside, it appears the Leafs desired a defense of: Gorges - Phaneuf Gardiner - Boyle/Robidas Rielly - Polak Dave Bolland...

July 22nd 2014, a date that will live in infamy.  The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Kyle Dubas, formerly the General Manager for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, former scout, agent, and fancy stats pioneer as assistant general manager. While he rankles at the comparison to famed Moneyball GM Billy Beane, Dubas does have the statistical bona fides to change the way game is being played in Toronto. Here are five key points from the hire: The Leafs will use their analytics budget this year Dave Nonis nearly broke twitter last season when he indicated that the Maple Leafs have had money allocated for...

Kyle Dubas announced as Toronto Maple Leafs new assistant General Manager.

Kyle Dubas on TSN 1050 with Bryan Hayes - July 22

Kyle Dubas on Sportsnet590

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed David Booth to a 1 year contract worth $1.1 million. https://twitter.com/APetrielli/status/491669971781828608 SCOUTING REPORT Assets: Has speed to burn. Can put up points in bunches and is ultra aggressive on the forecheck. Also boasts a nose for the net. Can play on either side of center, which adds to his overall value. Flaws:Concussions are still a concern with him, especially since he has a bad habit of keeping his head down in dangerous areas of the ice. Isn't a natural setup man. Lacks game-to-game consistency. Career Potential:Speedy, streaky scoring winger. - The Forecaster Leafs fans might remember David Booth from when...

Brendan Shanahan will be introducing Kyle Dubas as the new assistant GM. CLICK PLAY AND WAIT FOR THE STREAM TO START

In somewhat of a shocking development, Claude Loiselle and Dave Poulin have been fired as assistant GMs. Incoming is a 28 year old executive, Kyle Dubas, formerly General Manager of the Soo Greyhounds and a big proponent of advanced statistics. https://twitter.com/simmonssteve/status/491590937030578177 The Maple Leafs have signaled a change in management direction under Brendan Shanahan, and it’s probably the closest thing resembling that culture change the Maple Leafs have been talking about in the past few months. Dave Poulin was involved in a little bit of everything to do with the team as VP of Hockey Operations, as well as serving as GM...

Cody Franson and the Toronto Maple Leafs avoided salary arbitration yesterday by agreeing to a final-hour, one-year, $3.3 million pact. The question now is whether Franson will be a Leaf or donning another team's sweater on opening night of the 2014-15 season. Here's both sides of the argument, as best I see it: PROS: - The most convincing argument for moving Franson: His value, as a UFA to be on July 1, 2015, is likely to to decline by the game unless he has a really big season or something unforeseen. If the Leafs don’t think they can get a deal done...