Mitch Marner took a second to think. Only when he had figured out exactly what he wanted to say about new Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas, and how he wanted to say it, did Marner respond to the question.



“I think players can talk to him more comfortably than Lou,” Marner said, referring to Lou Lamoriello, Dubas’ predecessor as Toronto’s GM. “Especially young guys when they want to talk to Lou, it was pretty scary or intimidating for them, from just (the) experiences he’s been through, people he’s had on his team.



“It’s a lot different I think in that scenario,” Marner said of Dubas. “He’s more approachable.”



You hear that a lot from players when it comes to Dubas, promoted in May to replace Lamoriello, who’s now the maestro of the New York Islanders management team.



“He really listens to players,” Connor Brown said. “I know a lot of guys say that,...