Toronto Maple Leafs' GM, Kyle Dubas, is unlike most hockey experts who voiced their immediate concern in Toronto that signing a player like John Tavares means it will be difficult to structure the monies owed to some of the NHL's best young talent.

The question of how the Maple Leafs will now keep all of Tavares, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander in the fold is a fair one considering the three latter names will need contract extensions by the end of next season. The Leafs' organization was already looking at salary cap issues and Dubas just added $11 million per season to the club over the next seven seasons. When these deals are done, the combined salaries of these four players alone will take up close to 50 percent of the team's salary cap.

When asked if he was at all concerned about the challenges in keeping this core together, Dubas told Dubas told Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek on this week’s episode of 31 Thoughts: The Podcast, “We can, and we will.”

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Part of Dubas' plan is to be patient.

Dubas believes the key to getting these players signed is not a quick extension that means each will see an obvious pay increase. That sort of thing will obviously come. What Dubas is more concerned about is ensuring each player knows the direction of the team, how they are involved long-term and what it means for them personally as the franchise stays committed to a vision.

"It might go a little bit slower than some people would like but that would be on me to continue to be patient with it and make sure that these guys are not just signing because it’s a long-term contract and it’s obviously a nice pay increase for them, but they want to be here as part of the long-term, they know where we’re going and they’re a full part of that rather than sign a deal and then a year later wonder what the vision is for the program and whether they want to be part of it,” Dubas told Marek and Friedman.

In short, if Dubas can sell the vision of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he may be able to convince each player into taking a little bit less knowing they'll still get rich in the process.

For Dubas, this is a plan that needs to work. The Maple Leafs could use a boost to their defensive depth, and unless he signs a couple key blueliners to one-year contracts, the team may have trouble keeping the puck out of their own net, needing to win games by being the team that wins high-scoring games. So too, should he lose a player like Marner or Nylander because he can't afford to keep everyone, Dubas may be criticized down the road for adding someone the team didn't necessarily need at a point the team was strapped for cash and at the expense of younger, potentially better talent.

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