'It's time': Leafs know they're running out of chances for playoff breakthrough

TORONTO — Kyle Dubas didn't just double down.

The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager pushed his chips all-in – a decision that could go a long way in defining his tenure in the pressure-packed role he's occupied since the spring of 2018.

Dubas once again resisted any potential off-season urge to blow up the core of his highly skilled yet playoff-success-starved roster following another first-round exit last May.

Toronto, in truth, showed better than in past post-season failures. The result – a razor-thin, seven-game loss to the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning – was the same, but the feeling was the Leafs were on the right track and deserved a chance to run it back.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2022-23 campaign, however, Dubas might not have the chance to make a similar decision if a group he's backed unconditionally is once again unable to deliver.

So where does that belief come from?

"Being around the group every day," the 36-year-old executive said at the start of training camp. "When the group was younger, I think you're trying to establish yourself. Now they're trying to prove together that they can win.

"I don't expect people to hear that and believe it. They're going to want us to show it, and that's 100 per cent acceptable. But I see what the group is about every day."

That optimism is well-founded – at least on paper and when examining regular-season results.

The playoffs have been another story.

A team led by reigning Hart Trophy winner and 60-goal man Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander has failed to advance to the second round in six consecutive seasons dating back to the club's return to playoff action in 2016-17.

On the flip side, Toronto has