Kyle Dubas’ Biggest Regret As GM Is Trading Mason Marchment Away From Maple Leafs

Kyle Dubas’ number-one trade he regrets was while he was general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The current Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations and GM joined Spittin’ Chiclets last week to chat about the Penguins as they get ready for their playoff run, as well as some interesting tidbits about his time in Toronto.

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He also divulged what trade he regrets most in his career as an NHL GM, and it’s the move which sent Mason Marchment to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Denis Malgin on Feb. 19, 2020.

“To me, the one that I regret most is — I’ve said this before openly — Mason Marchment,” Dubas told Spittin’ Chiclets.

“We traded Mason to Florida. He had come up with us the whole way. We signed him to minor-league deal after his overage season in major junior. He was in Orlando in the ECHL for most of the first year. He didn’t play for three months, like, just working with the development team, and that was my responsibility then.

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“It was 2016-17 with the Leafs, working for Lou (Lamiorello), and he came so far, helped us win a Calder Cup in 2018, was a huge part of that,” Dubas continued. “Made his NHL debut the next year, which was awesome. And then he was 25, I think at the time, or 24, and we moved him to Florida. We needed the skill at that point. We had some guys out of the lineup, and it was a younger, skill guy that came in (Malgin).

“Every time I see Mason play, like no matter where he is, I just kick myself because we really needed that style of player throughout. Just the competitiveness, the ability to score, the ability to get under people’s skin, the physicality, the ability to get to the net. I always kick myself about that one.”

Marchment truly established his NHL career after being traded away from the Maple Leafs.

After his first season in Florida (where he scored 10 points in 33 games), Marchment began to find his game at the NHL level, finishing the 2021-22 season with 18 goals and 47 points in 54 games.

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Following two years with the Panthers, Marchment became an unrestricted free agent and signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Dallas Stars in July 2022. He played three seasons with the Stars and then was traded to the Seattle Kraken last summer.

Marchment struggled to find his game with Seattle and was eventually moved to the Columbus Blue Jackets in mid-December. After being moved, the 30-year-old found his game again, scoring 15 goals and 32 points in 39 games.

Meanwhile, we all know what occurred once the Maple Leafs acquired Malgin.

He played only eight games with Toronto during the 2019-20 season. Once the year concluded, Malgin returned to his home country of Switzerland and played two seasons in the Swiss League, tallying over a point per game in 93 matches.

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In 2022-23, Malgin returned to the Maple Leafs to try and give the NHL another go. He scored two goals and two assists in 23 games with Toronto before the club traded him to the Colorado Avalanche for Dryden Hunt in mid-December 2022.

Malgin has since returned to Switzerland and won two Swiss League titles with the Zurich Lions.

Marchment is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.