Former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has a lot of regrets. Dubas made an appearance on the “Cam and Strick Podcast” this week to talk about his time with Toronto. His biggest regret, however, didn’t come from the Mitch Marner extension. Nor did it come from the William Nylander contract fiasco.
It was the Mason Marchment deal that he regrets the most.
“I know you’re not supposed to look back,” Dubas said. “The biggest (regret) by far is actually Mason Marchment. By far. That one eats away and informs a lot of what we’ve tried to do since.”
Dubas traded Marchment to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Denis Malgin. Marchment’s breakout season came in 2021-22 with the Panthers, where he scored 18 goals and 29 assists fro 47 points in 54 games. His career high came with the Dallas Stars in 2023-24, with 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points in 81 games.
Malgin, on the other hand, played just 31 games with the Maple Leafs over two seasons, scoring four points in that timeframe. He now plays for the ZSC Lions of the Swiss Hockey League.
Dubas Discusses Marchment Trade, Regrets
When asked about Marchment, Dubas broke down the process leading up to the trade. “He had come in and signed an American League contract. He went to the ECHL but didn’t play because he needed to build up his strength and skating. And so we had this specific program that he didn’t complain about.”
“He had some injury trouble, kind of been in and out. And we found our lack of scoring, there was a big push internally to acquire some skill. And so, there was a younger player that had a longer NHL pedigree in Florida, Denis Malgin and (Florida general manager) Dale (Tallon) had been pushing for more and came back and said we do a straight-up for Marchment.”
“After lots of thinking about it, it felt like months of thinking about it. That was a decision that I had made. And Mason just was so competitive and talented and had gone through our program for all that time. And so that’s that’s the one that really more than any others by far,” Dubas explained.
Maple Leafs Aiming for Marchment Reunion
General manager Brad Treliving was aiming to bring Marchment back to Toronto this season. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. The Seattle Kraken acquired Marchment from the Stars in exchange for a 2026 third round and 2025 fourth round pick.
According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs hoped for a Marchment reunion.
“The Maple Leafs wanted Mason Marchment, and were disappointed not to get him,” Friedman wrote. “Toronto wild-card: to replace Marner, could they move a defenceman to get a forward?… The Marchment trade is not the last we’ve heard of Seattle. Definitely active.”
Fortunately, there’s still a chance that Marchment makes his way back to Toronto. NHLTradeRumors.com insider Jeremy Tingly believes a trade will happen closer to the deadline.
“We’ll see how long the Marchment experiment lasts in Seattle. The Dallas Stars dumped his salary onto the Kraken as they had their own internal business to take care of, and Marchment should play a much bigger role in Seattle this season,” Tingly said. “This could increase his trade value in a major way ahead of the deadline, and as a pending unrestricted free agent, who plays a pesky playoff style, there will be no shortage of interest, including from the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
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