Dubas: Maple Leafs won't apologize for using signing bonuses

Kyle Dubas doesn't feel he owes anybody an apology for the Toronto Maple Leafs' unparalleled financial flexibility.

Toronto's general manager defended his team's ability to use signing bonuses to its advantage Friday while noting that teams in Florida and Texas have their own advantages in free agency due to the lack of income tax owed in those states.

"We're pretty fortunate in terms of the revenue that we're able to draw in," he told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "So I think for us to sit back and have the taxation argument used against us, but then not to be able to use any advantages that we have would be foolish on our part.

"I hear people bicker about it and make comments about it, but other teams aren't apologizing for using taxation or cost of living to aid their argument. So I don't think we should apologize either. And we won't."

Despite limited cap space amid Mitch Marner's ongoing negotiations, the Leafs were able to get both Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson signed to extensions Friday. Both deals included significant signing bonuses relative to actual salaries, an arrangement fully allowed under the CBA.

"For us, we get it used against us a lot - like the taxation part of it: 'If you play elsewhere, you play in the lower tax bracket.'" Dubas said. "Other teams use that. We're fortunate here because of our fanbase and because of the coverage and because of our corporate partners."

The Leafs constructed contracts in this fashion when Lou Lamoriello was the team's general manager, but Dubas has escalated the practice, most notably using it with superstars Auston Matthews and John Tavares, who will both see more than 90 percent of their contracts' total values paid in bonuses.

Forbes ranked the Leafs second on its 2018 list of the NHL's most valuable franchises, estimating the club's worth at $1.45 billion.

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