Kyle Dubas looked like a proud parent when Carmelo Anthony Jersey he stepped in front of a sembled reporters alongside newly re-signed Mitch Marner on Saturday in St. John's, Nfld.The 33-year-old, who the day previous inked Marner to , had the look of a man who just had a ma sive weight lifted off his shoulders.And to be fair to Dubas, he did.Tracking Mitch Marner's career: Le s than 24 hours prior to presenting Marner to the media in Newfoundland, the Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager completed the most contentious NHL contract negotiation of the offseason. Marner's new deal comes le s than a year after William Nylander's contract saga hung over the Leafs' 2018-19 season untilDec. 1, .With that in mind, Dubas could be forgiven for sporting a huge smile on his face when meeting members of the pre s at Leafs' training camp. It almost didn't even matter that Marner was standing beside him."We're just happy to be here," Dubas told reporters, his wide grin confirming his words." Marner mi sed no games,and that's really the objective.We had a situation last year that did take long, and we're thrilled to be here.He wanted to be here,and we got it done."Dubas admitted that he "screwed some things up" in past deals alluding to the protracted Nylander negotiations that kept one of Toronto's promising young offensive players off the ice for months. But the youthful GM says he's a better executive for having put together deals with Marner, Nylander Dikembe Mutombo Jersey , Auston Matthews and last year's marquee free agent signing, John Tavares. Each player's negotiation came with its own set of challenges, but they were all learning experiences, Dubas said."I don't know that we'll ever be in that type of situation again ," Dubas said of the need to re-sign Nylander, Matthews and Marner all coming off their respective entry level contracts within a one-year timeframe while also trying to entice Tavares to join his hometown team last summer. "I'm happy that we've we've got to the conclusion that we've wanted to. You learn about the proce s and things you do differently for the next time around."In the end, I'm happy that we're able to deliver all three of the guys that were endingand bring John in as well, and continue to try to improve our team as we did."MORE:Prior to Friday's deal, Dubas and the Leafs were faced with the prospect of Marner's situation extending into training camp. The club a Thomas Welsh Jersey sembled in St. John's earlier this week before Tuesday's preseason openerin the Newfoundland capital against the Ottawa Senators, and Marner only mi sed a day with his teammates while getting the deal done.The 22-year-old flew to the east coast Saturday morning with Tavares, who welcomed his first child with wifeAryne on Wednesday, and will take the ice Sunday with the rest of the team.Marner said the desire to get a full training camp in with his teammates was a major factor in advancing a contract negotiation that had, at times, seemed destined to follow the course set by the Nylander discu sions last year."I just expre sed to Kyle that I don't want to mi s any games.I wanted to make sure that I'm with the team as soon as po sible," Marner said."I think everyone on both sidesjust bore down and realized that both parties wanted the same thingandcame to agreement and, like Dubas said, we're here, we've only Jamal Murray Jersey mi sed a day or so, and I get to get on the ice tomorrow with all the guys."With the biggest question mark of the offseason no longer hanging over their heads, Dubas and his staff can move ahead on final preparations ahead of a season with huge expectations. The GM expre sed relief and gratitude that the latest Leafscontract saga was officially over, with the biggest remaining piece of the team's puzzle locked into place long term.Now the focus shifts to the ice."We'd like to thank Mitch, his family and his representation on the work that we've put in in the last number of days to have this matter come to a close in the way that we all wanted to from the very beginning, which was with Mitch Jerami Grant Jersey committing to our team for an extended period of time," Dubas said."Now we can get to getting back to busine s here and get to work while we're here in training camp, with no distractions and nothing hovering above the team. We can all just be at our best as we get rolling through the year."