Hard-hitting defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin has changed teams this season, moving from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Dallas Stars. The Russian blueliner will enter his seventh year in the NHL with his new three-year contract, carrying a cap hit of $3.25 million which he signed on July 1, 2024. In this translated interview, he talks about his move to his new team, playing in Toronto, Pavel Mintyukov, the Anaheim Ducks, and much more.
*You can find the original interview in Russian on the YouTube channel Skolzky Lyod here!*
Moving to the Stars
“Everything has been a pleasant feeling. This is probably what I wanted and expected this summer. I was visiting a close friend of mine, the doctor for [Kontinental Hockey League team] Lokomotiv. We went to Yaroslavl and then visited his village. Essentially, all the negotiations happened from the village.” The number of pairing Lyubushkin plays on doesn’t seem to matter for the defenseman. “Honestly, it doesn’t matter which pair I play in, what’s important is my role and the team’s goals. I spoke with defense coach Alain Nasreddine, and I know what they expect from me. I’m comfortable with the situation.”
“I need to prove myself and help the team. By the way, I was surprised that the Stars couldn’t get past Edmonton. I think the Florida-Dallas final could’ve had a different outcome. Although, in the end, I’m really happy for our Russian guys, especially for Sergei Bobrovsky.”
Leaving Toronto
Many were expecting the Maple Leafs to retain Lyubushkin. “We couldn’t agree on the terms,” he says. “The club was interested, as always in such cases. After the season ends, there’s an exit meeting with the general manager. They made it clear: ‘We want to keep you, and we’ll negotiate with your agent.’ But once negotiations started, I didn’t feel any strong desire from their side. They said they wanted to keep me, but the terms weren’t acceptable. Both in terms of duration and money, it was very difficult.”
Related: Grading Maple Leafs’ Trade for Ilya Lyubushkin
Moreover, he has already experienced leaving Toronto and returning. “That was their choice. They traded for me a second time, and I was happy to hear the news,” Lyubushkin says. “Long before the trade, there were rumors that I’d likely be traded from Anaheim. Toronto was on the list of potential suitors, and I decided it was the best and easiest option because I didn’t need to adjust to a new team. When I arrived, it was like coming home after a couple of years. I knew the whole organization, and most of the guys were still there. So, it was absolutely comfortable to move from the Pacific Coast.”
In Dallas, he will find his fellow countryman Evgeny Dadonov. “We’ve talked already. But I actually know more about the organization not from him, but from Denis Gurianov and Valery Nichushkin. They all said in unison that it’s a great organization. All the guys loved it there in terms of life, playing, the team, the group, and the organization.” Moreover, Sergei Gonchar also lives there, even though he works in Vancouver. “I’ve already called him too,” Lyubushkin explains. “I had a few questions about housing—what neighborhoods are best, what’s better. He gave me a lot of useful advice.”
Maple Leafs’ Difficult Season
In the playoffs, it looked like Toronto lacked some unity. “It’s not really about the top line. It just happened that [Auston] Matthews had health issues, and [William] Nylander had migraines. I saw it, I talked to him. He was really suffering from such severe migraines that he couldn’t do anything. He’d show up, he’d try, he’d get on the ice, but there was nothing he could do about it. I felt really bad for him. Because I know he wanted to help the team, but watching the game on TV or from the stands and knowing you can’t do anything is awful.”
Lyubushkin also discussed Mitch Marner’s difficult season. “It’s hard to say what was wrong with him,” he explains. “I don’t know what happened with him. I wouldn’t say he wasn’t himself. I think he’s the same Mitch he was a couple of years ago. The same guy, the same player. Sometimes it just happens that the game goes differently. Understanding what the team misses to achieve more success is a tough question. It seems like they have everything, but they still can’t get through and win yet.”
Moreover, the Maple Leafs changed their coach this offseason, moving from Sheldon Keefe to Stanley Cup champion Craig Berube. Lyubushkin had good ties with Keefe. “He’s a good person,” he confirms. “And I think he’s tough enough. He never lost control of the team—not once while I was in Toronto did I feel that. It’s just how the situation and the game unfold. Maybe psychologically, he couldn’t steer the team in the right direction. Though, at all the meetings we had, I completely agreed with his opinion—everything he said and communicated to the team was right on point. There was nothing to argue with.”
About Pavel Mintyukov
In Anaheim, Lyubushkin played with young Russian defenseman Pavel Mintyukov. He was impressed with the youngster’s progress. “My first impression of him was how maturely he thinks and how different he is from other guys who come from junior hockey to the pros. He’s very intellectually developed. Based on the logic of his thinking, you would never guess he was 19 years old—well, at the time of his NHL debut. I was really surprised. There’s a big age gap between us, but from day one, I genuinely enjoyed talking to him. Honestly, I had a great time playing with him that season.”
“He definitely has a bright future in the NHL,” he goes on. “With his skills and abilities, I think he’s bound to achieve great results and become a top defenseman in the league—100%. He has a great combination of qualities. He’s got the skill, the calmness, but he also has a certain nonchalance. He doesn’t dwell on things when something goes wrong. He doesn’t withdraw into himself when something doesn’t work out. We could be sitting in the locker room during the break, joke around a bit, and then just go back to playing. I think that’s a huge plus.” Not all that, however, applies to him. “I’m probably a bit of a different style of player, Lyubushkin admits. “I just know my role and what I need to do to help the team. I don’t need to do anything extra to contribute.”
Lyubushkin’s Time With the Anaheim Ducks
Playing with the Ducks was hard for Lyubushkin. The California franchise only won 27 games last season. “I liked the group of guys, the locker room, but I didn’t like that we were constantly losing,” he says. “But of course, I was self-critical with myself.” He also said that he had lost his motivation during his time in Anaheim. “It wasn’t just because we weren’t winning—there was a combination of factors. The coach, Greg Cronin, was very tough, and the psychological atmosphere within the team was very difficult. It wasn’t that I wanted to quit hockey at that moment, but I did catch myself thinking, ‘Am I really tired of hockey already?!’”
It was overwhelming for the defenseman. “It weighed heavily on me. But when I moved to Toronto, it all just disappeared, like it evaporated. That situation came from constantly losing. Even though the coach was a good guy, he always put enormous psychological pressure on the players. We had a schedule where we would come in, warm up, sit in a meeting for an hour, and only then hit the ice. I always thought, ‘Why are we warming up now? Let’s do it after the hour-long meeting.’ They said, ‘No, we can’t do it that way.’ Then, after two months, they changed it, agreeing, ‘Okay, let’s do it your way.’
“But you’d come to these meetings, sit there for 40 minutes, listening to things unrelated to hockey. Then, finally, we’d start watching video. By then, you’ve already been sitting for 40 minutes, listening to random stories. It was just exhausting. He’s a good coach and a good person, but that was his approach. You’d walk into the locker room and see all the other guys with the same expressions on their faces as you… It was hard to find any motivation to go out and train. And it wasn’t just about struggling to find motivation—you just didn’t want to do it.”
But now that he has signed with a new team, in a new city, lack of motivation should not be a factor for Lyubushkin.
