kyle dubas leafs sheldon keefe

Kyle Dubas offers subtle social media shot at Leafs in wake of Keefe firing

If you ever thought there was a dull day following the Toronto Maple Leafs, well, you might have to try again tomorrow.

And even though it's been a full calendar year since he last officially worked for the team, former Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas finds himself starting even the tiniest bit of a rift with his old franchise.

Dubas, who now works for the Pittsburgh Penguins, was probably feeling a little snarky on the weekend when he decided to like a series of memes posted by Sportsnet host Cabbie Richards about recently fired Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe.

In the post on X, Richards shared a series of edited images of Keefe around the world, with the caption "Two years of paid vacation coming up. Well deserved!" in reference to the years remaining on Keefe's contract extension.

If we had to hazard a guess, the move is more of Dubas having a cheap laugh at the Leafs' decision to extend his contract before firing him a year later, rather than poking fun at his longtime colleague.

To see it yourself, you can check out Dubas' likes here.

At least on the surface, the hard feelings don't appear to be the same for Keefe and his former employer as they are for Dubas.

"Leafs nation, time has come to say goodbye. Writing down a note and sending it out didn't seem like enough, and I do plan on taking a little break from media. So here I am. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's a dream come true for a boy from Brampton," Keefe said in a goodbye video posted to X, which inspired the meme.

"I want to thank Kyle Dubas, Lou Lamoriello, Brad Treliving, Brandon Pridham, Brendan Shanahan, Larry Tannenbaum, and the MLSE board for giving me this opportunity to work with the Marlies and Leafs. I didn't get it done in the playoffs. I didn't help push our team over the line and deliver. I accept responsibility for that. No excuses. That's the job. I didn't get it done. It's the reality of the business, and I accept it."

In any case, it will be a long summer in Pittsburgh and Toronto before hockey starts again.

Lead photo by

Pittsburgh Penguins/X


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