"I am not concerned," Dubas said when asked about the Leafs' recent play. "I think that earlier, just speaking on a personal level, in my own career, just going back to (his days running the Ontario League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), you used to - and my wife could really attest to this - go up and down and every loss was the end of the world and every win was the greatest thing ever. Experience and just going through the years have shown that these types of things are really a great opportunity.
"We had some teams back in Sault Ste. Marie, and also with the (American League's) Marlies, that didn't really encounter any rough stretches during the season at all. Then you get to late in the year and in the playoffs where things are hard, and the team hasn't had any experience in dealing with that."
Because the Leafs are still evolving into the year-in, year-out Cup contender Dubas and team president Brendan Shanahan envision, tests like the current one Toronto finds itself in - they've got a 9-9-2 record in their past 20 games - give head coach Mike Babcock, Dubas, and the entire coaching and management group a good sense of where things are at, both for individual players and the team as a whole. And there can be tests where a team is not structurally sound or mentally focused and losing games that way, or there are tests where a team is doing many, if not most of the right things, and losing games because puck luck wasn't on their side, or they ran into a hot goaltender or two.
Toronto's struggles clearly fall into the latter category - and for Dubas & Co., the stage is set for Leafs players to stay the course, compete with just as much belief in the system as they had when wins were coming more easily earlier in the season, and reap the rewards for their process loyalty in the games to come.
"Especially with our group being a younger group, where the core of the guys is young, it's just a great opportunity for them to show how they can lead the group out of it and develop their own leadership," Dubas said. "I think we've had some games where we've played really well and the puck just hasn't gone in, whereas earlier in the year, we had some games where we didn't play very well and the puck was going in at those times. In life and in hockey, it all seems to balance out sometimes.
"Most of the times it's during the season, other times it takes a few years, but you usually come out even. I just think it is a great opportunity for our whole group now."
Dubas touched on a slew of topics Tuesday, including his views on the importance of defenceman Jake Gardiner to the team's fortunes, potential new long-term contracts for centre Auston Matthews and winger Mitch Marner, trade deadline thoughts, the AHL's Marlies, and much more, but he circled back to focus on his happiness, all things considered, with the state of the franchise.
"I think we're happy with, overall, where the team is at," Dubas said. "You can sort of get immersed in the short term, both when things are going great and when things are going not to the level you expected them to as far as wins and losses. But it's a good time to reflect on how the team is playing, where the team is at, what we can improve on.
"When we analyze it, we're more looking at our overall season. In that stretch, we've played some of our best games. If you go back to December and work your way all the way through, we've had some games where I don't think we've played to our potential. I think all the players and coaches and myself recognize that, but we've had some games where we have played extremely well…sometimes the scoreboard goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. I'm very encouraged by that."
