Dubas’ job is safe … for now

What I’m about to say is going to surprise and even anger some people.

But here goes:

There is no scenario in the entire HockeyVerse where Kyle Dubas will be fired this summer.

None. Zero. Zilch.

It doesn’t matter if the Leafs lose again in the first round. Heck, they can lay an egg the size of Newmarket and get swept in four games and it still won’t change a thing.

Dubas’ job is safe.

If anything, he deserves a raise. Well, that and our sincere apologies.

Raise your hand if you wanted him gone after last year. You weren’t alone. The Leafs were so unsure of him that they let him go into the season as a lame-duck GM whose contract expires at the end of the year.

The thinking was that if the Leafs went deep in the playoffs, he’d be re-signed. If not, he and Brendan Shanahan and Sheldon Keefe would be given the boot.

So why has that changed? Well, look at what he’s done.

We criticized him for trading for Matt Murray and taking a gamble on Ilya Samsonov. Guess what? Both worked out. From purely a goals-against average and save percentage, Toronto’s goaltending is a lot better than it was last year.

We said this team didn’t have forward depth. That is wasn’t tough enough. That the defence lacked size and grit and guys willing to fight.

So Dubas got Ryan O’Reilly abd Noel Acciari. He traded for Luke Schenn and Brayden McNabb. And yeah, you can question whether he tinkered a bit too much. But you can’t argue with the direction.

And the best part? He didn’t give away the team’s top prospect in Matthew Knies.

No, Dubas’ job is no longer on the line.

Instead, it’s Keefe who is under pressure. And the players, of course. Because if the Leafs don’t go deep this year, someone is going to pay. Someone like William Nylander or Morgan Rielly or

It just won’t be Kyle Dubas, who can probably kick up his feet and relax.