TORONTO -- Change was on Brendan Shanahans mind when he took over as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After taking some time to assess the organization, he made his first major change to the front office Tuesday, firing assistant general manager Claude Loiselle and vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin, and hiring 28-year-old Kyle Dubas as the teams new assistant GM. The move represented a shift in philosophy to shape the Leafs more in Shanahans image. "Hes not tied to any old ideas," Shanahan said of Dubas. "I believe we have people in our organization who have maybe been afraid of certain words and certain information who, once you speak with Kyle, I think he makes it seem much more logical and easy to apply." For some time, the Leafs have been considered behind the times with advanced statistics and even the way NHL rosters are shaped. Truculence was and still is a Brian Burke buzzword, and long after his departure Toronto has remained under GM Dave Nonis and coach Randy Carlyle a team that prizes intangibles and toughness perhaps more than the rest of the league. Hiring Dubas doesnt immediately mean that will end, especially given that most of the off-season moving and shaking is over. But the former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds GM brings fresh ideas and could make the Leafs more willing to embrace different philosophies. "I think every organization rightly or wrongly changes every day," Dubas said during his introductory news conference at Air Canada Centre. "If youre not changing, everything around you is and thus youre going to change in not a great way. Ive got the impression in talking to Brendan and talking to Dave that theyre certainly open to any and all ideas, and that was one of the things that was most enticing about the situation here for me." Shanahan said he began this process just "polling the hockey world" looking for rising stars and innovators to talk to, not specifically a person to hire as an assistant GM. A conversation with OHL commissioner David Branch and others led to Dubas emerging as the top name. Over some time, Shanahan began to see Dubas as not just a source of knowledge but someone hed like to apply that to the Leafs organization. An expected two-hour meeting became seven and became dinner as the two men not only bonded over the shared experiences of being criticized in new jobs but challenged each others preconceived notions about hockey. Dubas, who served as a Greyhounds scout as a teenager before becoming the youngest NHLPA certified agent and the second youngest GM in OHL history, made a strong impression on Shanahan. "I think our view on hockey and how its being played and how it should be played are very similar," Shanahan said. "But immediately for a young guy to come in and have his first meeting with me and challenge thoughts and ideas, I thought that was maybe the most encouraging sign. Thats what I want, I always want our group to be a group where thoughts and ideas are challenged and you come out together as a team." Asked what changes hed like to make to the Leafs, Dubas played the card that hell do what hes asked. But what drew him away from his hometown Greyhounds -- not a "slam dunk" -- was an ability to make an impact. "I was enthused with my talking to Brendan, then even more enthused with my discussions with Dave and where he sees the game going and the game evolving," Dubas said. "That, to me, was one of the more exciting parts of the entire process: Knowing that Id be able to come in and be heard and help out as much as possible." Shanahan also thinks Dubas will be able to teach older members of the organization a few things, lauding his personal skills to be able to communicate and convince without being overbearing. With the 50-year-old talking so much about changing the Leafs "culture," Dubas is a step in that direction. "I can certainly say that anybody in our organization, regardless of what they were asked in the past or past years, their opinions, a little bit of time with Kyle can change those opinions and change those views," Shanahan said. "He is not an in-your-face kind of guy, hes logical, hes thoughtful." Asked if logic was something that was missing, Shanahan said it was "something that we obviously felt needed to be improved upon." Even amid his excitement about hiring Dubas, Shanahan said it was a difficult day to let good people go. Poulin had been around since 2009 and Loiselle since 2010. Each originally hired by Burke, Poulin and Loiselle didnt fit with the new regime of Shanahan, Nonis and now Dubas. "I think that there wouldve been some redundancies there had they stayed and there wouldve been some changes to their role that I dont think was necessarily going to be a proper fit for them," Shanahan said. Shanahan added that Dubass specific duties for the Leafs were ironed out at dinner with Nonis on Monday night. Though Dubas has salary-cap and CBA experience from his past career as an agent, the team is expected to hire another assistant GM for some of that day-to-day work as well as potentially someone else in the front office. "We want to make sure that everybodys in their most comfortable place and a place in which were as efficient as we can be as a club," Shanahan said. Even with another assistant GM around, Shanahan expects Dubas to influence the organization as a whole. "Information is power and Kyle is great at gathering information," he said. "Its not just one specific job for him. I think hes somebody that really wants to sort of be involved in a lot of things." Dubas spent the past three seasons as GM in Sault Ste. Marie, and the Greyhounds made the playoffs twice after a rocky start. Concerned with his own team, Dubas didnt get a chance to watch the Leafs much but caught some replays recently once the possibility grew that hed be moving to the NHL. Living in Ontario, Dubas couldnt avoid hearing about the Leafs. And though his only connection to the coaching staff is knowing assistant Steve Spott, hell have a chance to learn more in time. "I know what a lot of the criticisms and a lot of the positives are surrounding the team and now its just going to be about really digging into it and breaking it down that Im working here," Dubas said. Later Tuesday, the Leafs signed left-winger David Booth to a US$1.1-million one-year contract. They still need to figure out what to do with restricted-free-agent goaltender James Reimer and sign restricted-free-agent defenceman Jake Gardiner to a new contract, things that Shanahan said Nonis has under control. As far as improving the rest of the on-ice product with the Leafs, Shanahan said: "Were working on it."
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Nikola Mirotic Jersey . Everton Preview West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has been around the game long enough to not get too high when things are going well and not get too low when they arent.BOSTON -- The pine tar on Michael Pinedas neck was a stain for the New York Yankees. General manager Brian Cashman was "embarrassed." Manager Joe Girardi called it "poor judgment." And Pineda was "sad" and vowed not to do it again. The Yankees right-hander was ejected for using pine tar less than two weeks after appearing to get away with using a foreign substance in another game against Boston, and the Red Sox beat New York 5-1 on Wednesday night. The previous time, Pineda said he used "dirt" on his right palm to get a better grip in cold weather in a 4-1 win over Boston on April 10 in New York. This time, he said he decided to put pine tar on the right side of his neck after allowing two runs in the first inning on another chilly night so he could use it to grip the ball. "Ill learn from this mistake," a downcast Pineda said. "It wont happen again." He was thrown out in the second inning when plate umpire Gerry Davis found the substance on the right side of Pinedas neck after Red Sox manager John Farrell asked him to check. Pineda walked from the mound without protest. "When its that obvious, something has got to be said," Farrell said. "Our awareness was heightened, given what we had seen in the past." Davis said he found pine tar and Pineda gave no explanation as he left the mound. Cashman said that in a similar situation, "I would want my manager to do what John Farrell did." He said the issue was discussed with Pineda after the game on April 10 and again after he was ejected. Now he expects Pineda to be suspended. "He did what he did, but were also responsible that somehow he got out of our dugout and was on the field in that manner," Cashman said. "That never should have happened." Pineda (2-2) had nothing on the right side of his neck in a photo of him on the mound in his tough first inning, when four of the first six batters reached on hits. Another photo taken in the second showed a shiny horizontal substance on his upper neck below his right ear. After Pineda struck out the first two batters and had a 1-2 count on Grady Sizemore, Farrell talked to Davis. The umpire went to the mound, looked at the ball then touched the substance on Pinedas neck with his right index finger. Then he gestured with that same finger, indicating Pinedas ejection. "He had a hard time gripping the baseball. Unknown to us, he put it on and went out there," Girardi said. "Its a young kid. I dont think hes trying to do anything, cheat. I think hes just trying to go out there and compete." Rule 8.02(b) says a pitcher shall not "have on his person, or in his possession, any foreiign substance.dddddddddddd For such infraction of this section the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically." "We will talk to the umpires tomorrow and review their report before taking any action," Major League Baseball spokesman Michael Teevan said. In recent suspensions of pitchers for pine tar, Tampa Bays Joel Peralta was penalized eight games in 2012, the Los Angeles Angels Brendan Donnelly 10 days in 2005 and St. Louis Julian Tavarez 10 days in 2004. The suspensions of Donnelly and Tavarez were cut to eight days after they asked the players association to appeal, and Peralta dropped his challenge with no reduction. In Pinedas previous start against the Red Sox, Farrell didnt see a photograph of Pinedas hand until the fourth inning; when Pineda came out to warm up for the fifth, his hand was clean. On Wednesday, with the game time temperature at 50 degrees, Sizemore started the first with a triple and scored on Dustin Pedroias single. With one out, Mike Napoli singled Pedroia to third. After Mike Carp flied to left, A.J. Pierzynski singled up the middle, scoring Pedroia. After Pinedas ejection, David Phelps came in and completed the strikeout of Sizemore. John Lackey (3-2) allowed one run and seven hits in eight innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Koji Uehara struck out three in the ninth in a non-save situation. "There is such a thing as too many strikes if youre hitting the white part of the plate," Lackey said. "I was fortunate enough tonight to be hitting the corners more times than not." Napoli had three hits and Boston scored two runs in the first and two more in the third. The Yankees scored on Alfonso Sorianos sacrifice fly in the sixth. NOTES: Girardi pushed a television camera focusing on Pineda in the tunnel. Girardi called it a "private area" and said "the camera is meant for the dugout and not the tunnel," adding "all I did was turn it." ... Boston Marathon mens champion Meb Keflezighi threw out the ceremonial first pitch wearing a Red Sox jersey with the name "MEB" and the number "26.2" on the back, the mileage distance of the race. ... Ortiz played in his 1,643rd game as a designated hitter, matching Harold Baines major-league record. ... Boston sent OF Daniel Nava to Triple-A Pawtucket and recalled RHP Alex Wilson. ... Mark Teixeira struck out four times. ... Derek Jeter was 0 for 4, ending his 11-game hitting streak. ... In the finale of the three-game series Thursday night, New Yorks CC Sabathia (2-2) pitches against Felix Doubront (1-2).
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