Rumor: Kyle Dubas will consider a coaching change should the Maple Leafs lose in the 1st round

According to a Maple Leafs source who works directly with team management, Kyle Dubas is frustrated by Mike Babcock's recent comments to the media and is considering a coaching change, should the Maple Leafs get bounced in the first round in this year's playoffs.


The source went on to mention Dubas was furious after Babcock recently took shots at the team's lack of depth. They also mentioned it was Babcock who emphasized before the deadline he didn't feel the team was deep enough for a long playoff run. Our understanding is some of the more recent quotes include:

They're a good team, they're a deep team, and they're deep enough, they don't have to overplay their players. 

Another quote the source referenced:

Being this open to the media is not something Babcock has always done and it appears the teams' recent struggles have opened up some serious tension between the Leafs GM and Head Coach. To note, Mike Babcock has not enjoyed a lot of playoff success over the past 10 seasons, so it makes sense for the Kyle Dubas to continue to evaluate every aspect of his team moving forward. The only difference with the rest of his roster and coaching staff, nobody else is calling him out in the media.