Thread by @BrooksDSimpson

So @kyledubas's signing to head hockey operations with the @penguins is quite suggestive as to what went down in #LeafsForever land.

There may have been financial issues. There may have been family issues. Most of all, however, were issues of control and autonomy.

My speculation is that Dubas found himself taking responsibility (and pressure) for decisions he was not alone in making (and that were subject to veto). If everyone was going to hold him accountable for those decisions, he wanted those decisions to be his.

Thus when Dubas's agent approached Brendan Shanahan with a revised contract, Shanahan concluded that Dubas wanted much more control at Shanahan's expense.

Shanahan wasn't willing to give that up.

Dubas's Monday press conference shifted his leverage. He removed competitors while saying that one should not take his return for granted. He then told Shanahan that he wanted to return ... but on his terms.

They were non-negotiable for both parties.

In Pittsburgh Dubas will get the control he craves by operating from Shanahan's slot, and he'll do so in a strong hockey market which nevertheless lacks the external pressure everyone feels in Toronto.

After all, if the family said okay to the pressure cooker in Leafs land ...

... Pittsburgh would appear to be an attractive alternative.

Over time more will leak out about this, but I would not be surprised if in the end the story follows my line of speculation.

Besides, with the silence in #Isles ville, it's engaging to figure out this Dubas-cube.