Kyle Dubas has never had trouble charming his audience.
From that famous nine-hour introduction with Brendan Shanahan, to that presentation in the boardroom of that creative agency in Los Angeles that proved the difference in the John Tavares sweepstakes, to his selfless ownership over the Toronto Maple Leafs’ second consecutive opening-round failure at the hands of the Boston Bruins two springs ago when Mike Babcock had washed his hands of it entirely, he’s always seemed to find a way to endear himself to a certain majority.
And yet, it’s possible that streak of enchantment came to an end over the contents of an hour-long virtual meeting Tuesday afternoon after the Maple Leafs crashed out in the qualification round of the NHL’s restart in a five-game series loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets.