Leafs defender reveals that he was in the midst of negotiating an extension when Dubas was let go

When the Leafs brought 33-year-old Luke Schenn back to Toronto, it was believed that Schenn would be a pure deadline rental for the Buds for their playoff run. However, I'm not sure many people expected the fit to be as good as it ended up being. As a result, there appeared to be some mutual interest in negotiating a contract extension.

Schenn began as one of the 3 or 4 bodies at the bottom of the rotation in Toronto, as the Leafs had a packed blueline that consisted of Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Mark Giordano, Justin Holl, Jake McCabe, Timothy Liljegren, Erik Gustafsson and Conor Timmins. However, once Schenn began to hit his stride, he wound up on a pair with Morgan Rielly and was also a key contributor on the penalty kill.

Schenn was a guest on TSN1050's First Up on Friday and revealed that he was actually in the process of negotiating a new deal with now ex-Leafs GM Kyle Dubas when Dubas was suddenly let go. Obviously, that means that the talks between Schenn and the Leafs has halted for the time being, until the team hires a new GM and brings him up to speed on the laundry list of items that the team will need to address this summer.

With how well Schenn had fit into the picture in Toronto, it would be a real shame if the team hired a new GM who doesn't share the same level of appreciation for what Schenn brings to the table. It's always a risk when there's a change taking place that a new general manager may have a different outlook for the team and may value certain players more or less than the previous regime. Hopefully in Schenn's case, the Leafs bring in someone who appreciates what Schenn does for the team, because he has quickly become a fan favourite in this, his second tour with the team.