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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 4, 2005 15:34:10 GMT -5
GM ruining LeafsSo far, Ferguson out to lunch in new NHLTwo days into the brave new hockey world and already John Ferguson's reputation is taking a pounding. What, players and agents are wondering, is the general manager of the Maple Leafs doing? The answers, however varied, are not encouraging. Ferguson's clumsy handling of negotiations with Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk -- where he attempted to have close friend Roberts undercut close friend Nieuwendyk -- sent a cryptic message to those within the industry. And then, to follow that up with a desperation offer to Nieuwendyk, after first trying an end run on him, only demonstrated his own inexperience in deal making. Players talk. Word gets around fast. The Leafs have suddenly become an exit ramp instead of a destination. Those who play for the team and those who want to play for the team now wonder amongst themselves about the lack of buyouts, about free-agent qualifying offers, about a team that appears to be heading nowhere. - slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Simmons/2005/08/03/1157821-sun.htmlThey don't call it "Slam Sports!" for nothing.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 4, 2005 15:53:20 GMT -5
Botched deals haunting Leafs
Ferguson to blame: Word spreading among players to sidestep Toronto
Michael Traikos
National Post, with files from CanWest News Service
Thursday, August 04, 2005
The Toronto Maple Leafs might no longer be a top destination for Hockey League players, said one top agent, in large part because of the team's dealings with veteran forwards Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk.
The agent, who did not want to be named, said the blame falls on GM John Ferguson's shoulders. Calling Ferguson inexperienced at making quick decisions, the agent said the Leafs committed a series of mistakes this week that could ruin their chances of landing a quality player and may cost Ferguson his job.
According to reports, the Leafs had initially offered the veteran pair one-year contracts worth US$1.5-million each on Monday, but were outbid by Florida who offered two-year deals of US$4.5-million. Apparently, Toronto was given a chance to match the offer, and it was reported that in order for Roberts to receive more, Nieuwendyk would have to settle for less.
"I think Roberts and Nieuwendyk have spread the word amongst players that Toronto may not be the place to play, which is shocking for me to hear players say," said the agent.
"You've got to treat players who have earned respect throughout the league with respect. By playing two players off each other, that leaves a bad taste in a lot of peoples' mouths.
"They're very well-liked and there is now a general consensus building among players and agents that if Toronto is not going to deal on the up-and-up with players, maybe players won't want to play there."
Indeed, on the third day of the free-agent signing period, the Leafs were once again quiet as other teams landed marquee-type players, most notably the Flyers, who signed Peter Forsberg to a two-year deal.
"I know [the Leafs] have been in the mix for a number of players who have signed in the last two days, but have been unable to make a decision quick enough and have let players slip through," the agent said.
"If I was a Toronto fan I'd be very concerned about what has gone on in the last couple of days."
While it appears that much of the Eastern Conference is passing or catching up to the Leafs -- Philadelphia, Florida, Atlanta and Pittsburgh have all made significant moves -- the Leafs were not expected to be major players for the biggest names on the market.
After opting not to buy out any contracts last week, Ferguson has, at the most, US$9.5-million to spend on about half a dozen players. It is believed that with little room to land a top quality player this year, Ferguson may be thinking ahead to next year.
He might also be waiting out the early free-agent frenzy, in which a number of players have received raises from 2003-04.
"It does surprise me that some [contracts] are as high as they are," said Ottawa's John Muckler, another GM who has yet to make a major move. "We had the 24% rollback [on salaries], but it seems that with everybody who is being signed, the thinking is like the old mode."
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 4, 2005 16:16:11 GMT -5
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Post by Goldthorpe on Aug 4, 2005 17:12:24 GMT -5
Poor, poor Leafs.
It certainly doesn't look good for them and, although we may all have wished collectively in the past that something like that happen, I feel bad for their fans.
The rebuilding process is going to be a long one...
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 4, 2005 17:22:15 GMT -5
Thanks for those articles Mr. B.
Many Leaf posters on their board are calling for Fergie Jr.'s head.....some even going as far as saying, "Well, after all...he IS the son of a Hab!"
Good times ahead.......
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 4, 2005 17:32:16 GMT -5
Against doctor's orders, I can see Pat Quinn pouring two fingers of his once favourite single malt whiskey and lighting up one of his remaining Cuban cigars, settling into the hammock on the verandah of his cottage, and softly whistling "If You Could Read My Mind" (the old Gordon Lightfoot song).
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Post by Forum Ghost on Aug 4, 2005 19:15:36 GMT -5
The tide has finally turned. Being from Toronto, I couldn't be happier reading articles like this.  |
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Post by jkr on Aug 4, 2005 20:26:28 GMT -5
The Globe and Mail reporter - Dave Shoalts defends Ferguson. He says the plan is to clear cap room and go after free agents next year. His article has the tone of a leaf call in show.
If that's his plan then maybe Ferguson is a bad a GM as people say. Really, how can your plan be to wait and see if certain people become free agents and then compete with the rest of the league to sign them?
That's not planning, that's rolling the dice.
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Post by SiR on Aug 4, 2005 21:01:05 GMT -5
The Leafs' roster as we last knew it has been completely decimated with virtually nothing of relevance added to shore up the bleeding. When you think of what's left on the UFA market, it doesn't look like they'll be icing nearly the same calibre team unless Fergie has some major trade plans. Looks like it should be a fun 8 games against the Laffs this year. I love it.
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Post by CentreHice on Aug 4, 2005 23:57:56 GMT -5
How about this excellent analysis from a Leaf-beat reporter.....Howard Berger.....
Berger Fix
BY HOWARD BERGER
The Fan-590 Radio, Toronto
I received a telephone call while going for dinner here in Los Angeles last night from Lee Hamilton – the well-known afternoon sports-talk host on XTRA-570 in San Diego. “Hacksaw”, as he is known, began to rattle my chain for being on holidays during the most intensive period of player movement in NHL history. I quickly reminded Mr. Hamilton, however, that the team I cover in the NHL seems to be on extended vacation as well.
It was less than two weeks ago, at the Board of Governors CBA ratification meeting in New York, that Toronto Maple Leafs’ chairman Larry Tanenbaum – a man I like and respect immensely -- called the Leafs “the number-one franchise in the NHL”. That type of hyperbole is commonplace among the businessmen who operate Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Leafs, the Toronto Raptors and the Air Canada Centre. And there is much plausibility to the claim as it pertains to the hockey club – owner of the second-longest drought in Stanley Cup history.
The Leafs, in fact, operate in the NHL’s most forgiving market, unconditionally supported by a massive cadre of fans who are among the most delusional in all of professional sport. Not to mention loyal beyond reason. An overwhelming majority of them are not of age to have any idea what it felt like when the 1960s Leafs routinely won championships, and many of those who do recall that era continue to hang around for an unlikely reprise. In short, the Leafs simply have to announce they are playing, throw open the doors to their glitzy arena, manufacture all items of marketing paraphernalia, and they become a license to print money.
As a plethora of teams they must compete with for Eastern Conference territory (Boston, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Florida, the Rangers and Islanders) have improved since the last puck was dropped – some to an apparently astounding degree – the Leafs have spent the first days of unrestricted free agency this summer in virtual paralysis. Incredibly, in the best-ever league-wide scenario for obtaining the franchise-type defenseman they have lacked for three decades, the Leafs have positioned themselves where they cannot compete for this type of player under the new salary cap system.
This, we must emphasize, is anything but an accident. It is the result of one of two factors – neither of which is credible… a) young general manager John Ferguson has completely bungled his initial foray into the NHL’s fiscal juggling act, overpaying several veteran players, while qualifying a group of marginal skaters that has no chance of contributing to a Stanley Cup. The net result is having to sit and watch like the class dunce while your fellow students excel… or b) Ferguson has simply been instructed by his bosses to remain inert during this process and not commit to any long-term deals.
Do not discount the latter. While Leaf ownership has reversed years of frugality by providing capital to sign expensive free agents, and management has sacrificed future parts to try and win (obtaining Owen Nolan, Brian Leetch, etc.), this is still very much a business-first enterprise, owned primarily by a pension plan board whose immense, hockey-related profits disappeared during the lost NHL season.
While filling out the roster with cheap parts, Leaf ownership and management is crafty enough to read its hockey market with precision. For decades, it has been routinely understood that the Leafs can do whatever they so choose, without even a ripple of consequence. If the poobahs at MLS&E have determined that this is not the summer for the hockey club to wisely position itself on the open market, then so be it. Other than members of the media holding the club accountable – which has all the effect of an umbrella in a typhoon – there is every motive to proceed accordingly.
This, after all, is a town whose “intellectual” hockey fans rationalize practically all elements of the big-league team. So what if Scott Neidermayer, Sergei Gonchar, Adam Foote, Chris Pronger and Brian Leetch have gone elsewhere – signed or traded? The Leafs can do just as well with (and I actually received this in an e-mail) Pierre Hedin, Brendan Bell and Karel Pilar. Unless you pay close attention to the Leafs, you likely have never heard of the aforementioned trio, and for good reason. The first two haven’t yet made it to the NHL, while the third has been a marginal injury substitute in recent years.
If, as a member of the media, you happen to point out this nonsense – or criticize the direction of the team in any covert manner – you are written off as a dolt whose opinions (though quoted extensively and verbatim) are not recognized. It is under this cocoon of protection that the Leafs operate on a daily basis, and by which it appears ownership is proceeding this summer.
There are even veteran members of the media who have been lured into rationalizing on behalf of the club. They explain that the Leafs have wisely chosen not to position themselves financially this summer (an astonishing claim) so they will have all kinds of extra dough to automatically reel in the top-name free agents next year – one of whom, Jarome Iginla, must have been suitably horrified by such a prospect that he quickly re-upped with his old team, the Calgary Flames.
But, hold tight, they say. Wade Redden, Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton and a host of others are just clamoring for the opportunity to pull on the fabled Maple Leaf. Why put yourself in a position to properly compete now for players like Niedermayer, Gonchar or Foote?
And, if the Leafs have indeed chosen this route, under which premise are they operating? This is a franchise that, in no way, has earned the right to forestall its progress for even a week. Imagine the temerity of an organization to consider this approach, after a comical absence of almost four decades from the Stanley Cup Final. It’s an excuse for ineptness, and nothing else.
The potential signings of Jason Allison and Eric Lindros should not be an appeasement. Yes, Allison was once a wonderful attacker before the pinched nerve in his neck derailed a promising career. No decent person should do anything but root for him to rebound, and if he does, he’ll help the Leafs. Same with Lindros, who I have long believed should be wearing a Toronto uniform (and have said so many times on radio), but who still has other teams pursuing him. For Eric to have a healthy season in his home town – devoid of concussion – would be a terrific, heart-warming story.
But, neither addition to the team would justify the Leafs inflating their salary structure with third and fourth-liners, then sitting idly on a powder-keg of front-line NHL defensemen while others around them smartly re-tool. If this is how the “number-one franchise in the NHL” conducts itself, with a manager claiming repeatedly he has a plan to keep the team competitive, something has gone terribly amiss.
My apologies to Leaf fans. The e-mail I referred to in my column actually said “Jay” Bell and it was my mistake not to double-check it. Of course, I was referring to Brendan Bell, and I thank all of you who pointed that out in e-mails to me. It doesn’t in any way, however, change the gist of the column.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 5, 2005 5:17:02 GMT -5
My point exactly. The business people behind the organization are doing a solid, stand-up job. The hockey people, not so much.
Being adroit in business matters does not automatically make one wise in hockey matters, and vice-versa...
...I never argued that the team was any good, I was focusing on how well the Leafs are run as a business.
As a matter of fact in one of my earliest posts in this dialogue I noted that the team is another topic altogether. It seems that we have now arrived at that other topic and I shall, starting with this post, address it....
...They had a pretty good run in the 90s and the early part of this century.
As a franchise (forget about the on-ice team for a second) they have continued to make a profit, investors continue to invest, they haven't lost any sponsors or media contracts, their fan-base isn't shrinking, and they are not in debt. They are a financially healthy franchise. They have, within their budget, achieved "cost-certainty". They should be the crab apple of Bettman's eye.
The Habs undoubtedly have better hockey people in place.
However, MLSE is not claiming $220M in losses over the last 5 years, as Gillett recently did.
Just be happy that with the financial resources at their disposal the Leafs do not have someone like Bob Gainey or Lou Lamoriello running hockey operations. Just imagine.... |
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Post by jkr on Aug 5, 2005 6:02:36 GMT -5
How about this excellent analysis from a Leaf-beat reporter.....Howard Berger..... Berger Fix BY HOWARD BERGER The Fan-590 Radio, Toronto Great article CentreHice - and this is from an unabashed leafs follower. Waiting for next years crop of potential free agents isn't planning, it's gambling. If they had put an experienced GM in place, they couldn't get this strategy past him. Someone like BG or LL would walk rather than work under those conditions. |
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Post by Cranky on Aug 5, 2005 8:10:25 GMT -5
Good God, If I was a Leaf fan, I would be picketing the ACC as we speak.
Mind you, with a rope on one hand and a bullhorn on the other, I don't know how I would scratch my ba......
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Post by seventeen on Aug 5, 2005 22:36:08 GMT -5
The desperation in Toronto is evidenced by the following...from Spector's Trade Rumours. Anyone who seriously believes the Wings would trade Zetterberg for a brainless pylon and a 40 year old goalie is in the throes of dementia. Or is a desperate Leaf fan. 640 TORONTO: reports a trade rumour that would see the Maple Leafs trade Ed Belfour and Wade Belak to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Henrik Zetterberg. This move would then allow the Leafs to sign Curtis Joseph for half of what Belfour makes. www.spectorshockey.net/ |
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Post by jkr on Aug 6, 2005 8:10:12 GMT -5
The desperation in Toronto is evidenced by the following...from Spector's Trade Rumours. Anyone who seriously believes the Wings would trade Zetterberg for a brainless pylon and a 40 year old goalie is in the throes of dementia. Or is a desperate Leaf fan. 640 TORONTO: reports a trade rumour that would see the Maple Leafs trade Ed Belfour and Wade Belak to the Detroit Red Wings for forward Henrik Zetterberg. This move would then allow the Leafs to sign Curtis Joseph for half of what Belfour makes. www.spectorshockey.net/I can make up my mind who is stupider, the person that made up this rumour or the radio station for putting it on the air. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 6, 2005 9:08:10 GMT -5
To give the Leafs credit, they did hold a press conference for Tie Domi after he signed—didn't we have one for Boullion?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2005 9:28:09 GMT -5
To give the Leafs credit, they did hold a press conference for Tie Domi after he signed—didn't we have one for Boullion? Really? |
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Post by jkr on Aug 6, 2005 17:41:35 GMT -5
To give the Leafs credit, they did hold a press conference for Tie Domi after he signed—didn't we have one for Boullion? Yes, and he spent his time defending Ferguson. yesterday it was Richard Peddie defending Ferguson. Didn't his father teach him how to look after himself? |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 6, 2005 19:44:53 GMT -5
The Globe and Mail reporter - Dave Shoalts defends Ferguson. He says the plan is to clear cap room and go after free agents next year. His article has the tone of a leaf call in show. If that's his plan then maybe Ferguson is a bad a GM as people say. Really, how can your plan be to wait and see if certain people become free agents and then compete with the rest of the league to sign them? That's not planning, that's rolling the dice. Thios is the earliest I've seen Leafs fans start the "Wait till next year" refrain. |
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Post by Habs_fan_in_LA on Aug 6, 2005 21:45:31 GMT -5
nothing makes me happier than the continuation of a family tradition, a Ferguson ruining the Leafs chances.
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Post by Cranky on Aug 7, 2005 12:34:50 GMT -5
Not THAT was funny!
Remeber one thing, the Laffers were going going hard to get Gainey. They wanted fliet mignon and settled for spoiled dog food........
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 7, 2005 12:41:07 GMT -5
Not THAT was funny! Remeber one thing, the Laffers were going going hard to get Gainey. They wanted fliet mignon and settled for spoiled dog food........ Gainey's apparently smarter than JFJ in more ways than one. |
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Post by duster on Aug 7, 2005 13:39:48 GMT -5
To the Habs benefit.
Is JFJ going to be Toronto's Reggie i.e. best of intentions, blamed for everything and completely out of his league? The signs are there.
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Post by Forum Ghost on Aug 7, 2005 19:22:45 GMT -5
Is JFJ going to be Toronto's Reggie i.e. best of intentions, blamed for everything and completely out of his league? The signs are there. He doesn't strike me as a very intelligent hockey man. I thought that when he became GM that he would put his own stamp on the team. Instead, all he's done is continue the status quo. Trades like the one JFJ made for Brian Leetch are exactly the type of trades that Pat Quinn would make. If JFJ's going to do the same thing that Quinn would've done then what's the use of hiring JFJ in the first place? I wouldn't go as far as to say that he is the Leafs version of Houle, but I do think that JFJ is slowly building the Leafs into a non-playoff team. |
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Post by jkr on Aug 7, 2005 19:46:21 GMT -5
Is JFJ going to be Toronto's Reggie i.e. best of intentions, blamed for everything and completely out of his league? The signs are there. He doesn't strike me as a very intelligent hockey man. I thought that when he became GM that he would put his own stamp on the team. Instead, all he's done is continue the status quo. Trades like the one JFJ made for Brian Leetch are exactly the type of trades that Pat Quinn would make. If JFJ's going to do the same thing that Quinn would've done then what's the use of hiring JFJ in the first place? I wouldn't go as far as to say that he is the Leafs version of Houle, but I do think that JFJ is slowly building the Leafs into a non-playoff team. And don't forget about the Roberts, Nieuwendyk and Belfour signings right on UFA deadline day in 2004. The Belfour contact, in particular, is really coming back to bite him. He could have really made a statement then but chose to go the same route as Quinn. At the time his competition for the job was Neil Smith. Smith has won a Cup and is used to dealing in a high pressure, big money environment. IMO, he was exactly the guy for the job. I'm glad they didn't hire him. |
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Post by jkr on Aug 7, 2005 19:47:56 GMT -5
Not THAT was funny! Remeber one thing, the Laffers were going going hard to get Gainey. They wanted fliet mignon and settled for spoiled dog food........ I think it was Dryden who really wanted BG for Toronto. Thankfully he was overruled. |
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Post by Forum Ghost on Aug 7, 2005 22:41:39 GMT -5
And don't forget about the Roberts, Nieuwendyk and Belfour signings right on UFA deadline day in 2004. The Belfour contact, in particular, is really coming back to bite him. He could have really made a statement then but chose to go the same route as Quinn. The Belfour deal was a really boneheaded move by JFJ and yes, it's really coming back to haunt him now that they barely have enough money to sign any big-name free agents. Also, his handling of the Roberts-Nieuwendyk situation brought out the rookie GM inside of him. I still don't understand why the Leafs never hired Neil Smith. He was the perfect fit for being GM of Toronto. He had the big-market experience, he's a great judge of talent and he's a winner. What more could you want out of a GM? But the Toronto Maple Leafs dropped the ball there as they've done so many times before. After all, it's no coincidence that the Maple Leaf organization is without a Cup for 38 years. |
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Post by Forum Ghost on Aug 7, 2005 22:45:47 GMT -5
I think it was Dryden who really wanted BG for Toronto. Thankfully he was overruled. Yes. He was overruled by Quinn. Pat Quinn knew that Gainey would take away all of his power and control. I don't understand how the president of a team gets overruled by the coach. Only in Toronto I guess. Even when they hired JFJ, Quinn was a part of the selection commitee. What other sports organization has the coach picking the GM?? Strange. |
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Post by seventeen on Aug 8, 2005 0:37:12 GMT -5
I've been pretty harsh on Juniour, but I can recall that Houle made his biggest mistakes early on and got better toward the end. Now don't hang me yet. I said better....in comparison to his start. At the end Rejean was merely chewing shoe laces rather than his entire foot. I think Jr.'s in the same boat. His BIG, GIGANTIC, ENORMOUS mistakes were made early, by throwing caution to the wind, whipping out the cheque book and actually believing that he was Punch Imlach and could win with a bunch of old geezers. In the process he decimated the small group of promising youngsters he had (which wasn't a lot to start with thanks to Quinn). With the changed landscape, he's a swimmer wearing concrete fins and a blocked snorkel. Right now, he's just shedding clothing, er contracts, in order to lighten the load. Of course, he did mishandle the Roberts/Niewendyk negotiations and still overpaid a depreciating Tie Domi. Hmmm.....on second thought, perhaps he is in over his head.
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 8, 2005 6:16:56 GMT -5
Owin' Nolan - How the Leafs Fell
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