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Brendan Shanahan met the press today, five days after the "locker cleanout" media availability he skipped. He embarked on a cringeworthy and embarrassing recitation of how he ended up divorced from Kyle Dubas.
It was his own decision, he's clear on that, but it was Dubas's fault. The recitation included day by day references to if they talked or didn't talk, who emailed when and then, well, Chris Johnston summed it up nicely:
The only thing of substance Shanahan said was that he would lean heavily on Brandon Pridham as they look to hire a new GM, and that no major organizational changes will take place until that new GM is in place.
Shanahan ended the presser with a firm set of statements about how hard it is to win, that the second round isn't easier, and that maybe they all learned that. He sounded angry and pointed but to whom exactly that was directed wasn't all that clear. Lack of clarity was his big complaint about Dubas, maybe they both were guilty on that one.
It wasn't exactly news either.
I'll end this with a comment from below: This isn’t a great start for the whole “the Leafs are a professional, adult organization who will carry on as such after Dubas leaves” thing.
It sure isn't.
If Kyle Dubas was unexpectedly and unusually emotional in his presser on Monday, this felt like being stuck in a bar next to a man who can't stop rehashing his divorce. Almost none of this was about hockey, the direction of the team, the process to get better, an explanation as to why Dubas suddenly wasn't a fit a day after he was about to be extended. It's not about money, except for how it seems like it might have been.
Call us back when you can talk about something other than who said what to whom and when, Shanny. We'd like to hear your plans for this team.