Dubas explains hilarious two-phone image when he was Toronto Maple Leafs GM
Former Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas has finally explained the very hilarious photo of himself from the 2019 NHL Draft.
Around the five-year mark of his tenure with the Leafs, fans throughout the hockey world couldn’t escape a photo of Dubas in which he held up two separate cell phones to each of his ears. It became an internet meme right from the start, and can still be spotted quite often today on social media.
Dubas, who parted ways with the Maple Leafs following the 2022-23 season, recently joined The SheetĀ podcast with Jeff Marek, where they spoke on a variety of topics, most of which focused on his current role as the GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marek did, however, ask the 39-year-old about that hilarious picture, which is now more than six years old.
“I got a call on the landline at the desk at the draft from a team about a trade, and then the cell phone call was one of our draft picks that we’d just chosen, Michael Koster,” Dubas revealed. “We picked him in the fifth round and hadn’t been able to get a hold of him yet to welcome him to the team.
“There was no trade that was going to happen, so I was just trying to hang up. I saw the call, and I didn’t want the call to go to voicemail again because we hadn’t talked to him yet. For a brief second, I’m just trying to get the other general manager off the phone and reach up and grab my cell phone.”
Kyle Dubas explained the viral photo of him using two phones at the NHL Draft š¤£
(via @thesheethockey) pic.twitter.com/4oWm8cGTgo
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Despite this photo being over half a decade old, it still brings a chuckle to many when reminded of it. While it sounds like it was a frantic moment that led up to it, perhaps we’ll get another similar gem from Dubas in the future in his current role with the Pens.