On Tuesday, Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment (MLSE)announced the firing of John Ferguson Jr. as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The move came as no surprise to hockey fans throughout North America, as the Leafs have missed the playoffs in consecutive years and are currently falling well out of relevance in the East this season. Head coach Paul Maurice managed to retain his job for the time being, and former Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher replaced Ferguson on an interim basis.
Ferguson's four-year tenure was marked primarily by unwise decisions and a penchant for trading away draft picks. From 2003 to 2007, the Leafs traded away three of their first-round choices. Of the other two picks, only Jiri Tlusty is still in the organization, bouncing between the AHL Marlies and the parent club.
These moves, notably the one that sent standout prospect goalie Tukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for backup-at-best goalie Andrew Raycroft, did not elevate the team to playoff contender status.
In addition, Ferguson's free-agent signings and extensions tended to offer veteran players deals that exceeded their true value. The five-year, $25 million deal offered to the human traffic cone that is defenseman Bryan McCabe was one of his worst. Periodic free-agent signings offer a big splash with little impact: look no further than this year's signing of left winger Jason Blake, whose 40-goal season with the New York Islanders in 2006-2007 was certainly a fluke.
Ferguson's dismissal offers a rightfully-angry Leafs Nation a culprit for the team's sustained mediocrity in recent years. It does not, however, address the root causes of the Leafs' ills. The true problem at the Air Canada Centre is MLSE, the Leafs' ownership group. Despite one of the largest fanbases in the sport and continuous national exposure on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Hockey Night in Canada, the Leafs have not won the Stanley Cup since 1967.
In fact, these factors may be contributing to the Cup drought. MLSE enjoys massive revenue, exceeding that of most NHL franchises, due to its merchandising, media and ticket sales revenue. In the salary-cap era, there is no room for payroll expansion, so the profits from the franchise go directly to the owners. The fanbase is loyal enough that it does not actually matter if the Leafs win the Cup, as long as it looks like they are trying hard enough - but MLSE has failed even to do that.
MLSE has managed to run the NBA's Toronto Raptors with a reasonable degree of success, but its shortcomings were on full display in the choice of a new GM for the Raptors. MLSE admitted that it knew little about actually running a basketball team and outsourced the hiring process to a headhunting firm.
Unfortunately for the Leafs, MLSE is persisting in the delusion that it can run a successful hockey franchise. President Richard Peddie has claimed that the new Leafs GM will be given full operational control. Considering that there have been no significant changes to the board and the past track record of Peddie and company, this statement is probably intended to placate Leafs fans.
Any semi-competent ownership group with the desire to win should be able to easily take a team in one of the largest hockey markets with a national following deep into the playoffs on a regular basis. The mismanagement of the entire MLSE group is a disgrace to hockey, and the fact that Ferguson was forced to take the fall for the troubles of the corporate parent is unacceptable.
The trouble in Toronto is matched by trouble at this year's All-Star Game in Atlanta Sunday. Notably missing are center Sidney Crosby (out six to eight weeks with a high ankle sprain), goalie Roberto Luongo (bowed out due to family issues) and left winger Henrik Zetterberg (back spasms), among many others.
Equally disappointing is the snub of Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Pascal Leclaire. Despite playing for a relatively weak team on which he has managed to rack up just 17 wins, he is second in the league in goals-against average (2.06) and save percentage (.925). Inexplicably, he's been left off the West's roster in favor of Manny Legace (2.24, .915, 17 wins) of the St Louis Blues, and Evgeni Nabokov (2.19, 0.911, 25 wins) of a far better San Jose Sharks squad.
