Leafs Fans Rejoice! One Part of the Problem is Gone!
On Tuesday the Leafs officially announced that John Ferguson Jr. had been relieved of his duties, and that Cliff Fletcher would be signing on as interim General Manager. Fans and media have been calling for Ferguson’s head for some time now, after the Toronto Maple Leafs missed the playoffs two years in a row and are now poised to miss for a third time. The real kicker is that this year’s Leafs won’t likely miss by one place, but are on pace to finish near the bottom of the entire league!
Ferguson is replaced by Cliff Fletcher, a seasoned hockey man who spent a stint with the Leafs in the 90’s that most people would consider to be a rather successful one. While Fletcher’s Leafs never won a Stanley Cup, they did advance to the Conference Finals twice. Fletcher was also responsible for some big moves in the franchise, including bringing up prospect Felix Potvin, who became an All-Star goaltender for the team and acquiring stars such as Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin.
While Fletcher brings great hockey knowledge and years of experience to the team, two problems still loom. First, Fletcher is only the interim General Manager and the Leafs will still need to find a more permenant replacement to come in for next season and beyond. In a league where all of the really talented General Managers are already working, it could be tough to find someone that will be a safe bet to do a bang up job. Second, and most important, Richard Peddie is still part of the organization. If he applies the same restrictive grip to Fletcher than he did to Ferguson the changes that come will probably be minimal and ineffective.
While Fletcher is a step in the right direction, the fact is he’s already expressed he has no interest in joining on full-time. That means come spring, the Leafs will be looking for a new General Manager. Don’t be surprised if the team hires another unknown quantity and Leafs fans will find themselves right back in the exact same position, with Richard Peddie interfering with the work of a General Manager who doesn’t really know how to do his job anyway.
Stumble it!
