The axe finally falls on John Ferguson Jr.
- Posted by Alex Simms on January 22nd, 2008 filed in Management
Well… it has finally happened. John Ferguson Jr. has been fired, and Cliff Fletcher has taken over the reigns as interim GM on a 19-month contract.
This is good news for Leafs Nation, as MLSE created and spurred on a complete mess with Ferguson behind this team. I personally believe Ferguson did an alright job considering the crap he had to put up with from the brass above. I think Ferguson would have done some things differently, but firmly believe his hands were tied.
That being said, a change still needed to be done in the GM department. That change is now on our hands. One interesting note that was reported are the four points Cliff Fletcher demanded of MLSE. The only one that really interests me is this: Fletcher wants a written agreement that keeps the MLSE board out of hockey operations. I didn’t think this would fly, but Fletcher is signed, so I guess it did. Interesting.
I personally don’t think any ‘agreement’ will keep the MLSE board out of the affairs of the hockey team. So we will see how Fletcher handles this whole mess.
The GM is replaced, and now the question is… Where does the team go from here?
3 Responses to “The axe finally falls on John Ferguson Jr.”
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February 3rd, 2008 at 11:43 am
So let me get this right, Cliff Fletcher has been hauled out of retirement to resurrect the Leafs. Well ain’t that a kick! John Ferguson got shafted big time by the Board of Maple Leaf Sports. John knew as we all do that the biggest problem with the Leafs is Paul Maurice and the rest of the staff. If JFJ had removed Mr. Maurice the Leafs would not be in this predicament. So guess what, Cliff Fletcher is going to watch the Leafs revolt against Maurice till the end of the season at which time he will be fired. I absolutely guarantee that will happen. By the way, the media is telling us all that Cliff Fletcher was the hockey god for acquiring some pretty good players back in the 90’s but the reason it worked is because the great Pat Burns was guiding the on ice activities. One last comment, the leafs haven’t won since Pat Burns left for the Meadowlands. The coach is the most important cog in the wheel to success. Go Leafs Go!!!
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:58 am
Cliff Fletcher is not going to save the Leafs. I am sorry to burst your hopeful bubble but that is the reality of the whole deal. John Ferguson made only one major mistake during his tenure as GM, he hired a bad coach and stuck by him. The Leafs will become instantly better as soon as Paul Maurice becomes unemployed. By the way, fire the staff too. The Leafs are defensively challenged and have been since day one of the Maurice era. It boggles my mind as to why they hired the man in the first place. So what if he guided the Hartford Whalers and Carolina Hurricanes thru years of futility. How does that qualify him to run the mighty Leafs? Anyway, Cliff Fletcher did some good things on the acquisition side way back in the 90’s but it was Pat Burns who guided the ship into the playoffs and almost won the coveted Stanley Cup. The message is clear…Hire a professional coach if you ever want any degree of success.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I don’t believe Leafs Nation thinks that Cliff Fletcher is going to ’save the Leafs’. He is here to made some deals, clean house, and basically, create a semi-clean slate for the next guy to take over. The search is currently under way for that person.
We all know Paul Maurice is most likely done at the end of this season. I believe the only reason he is still there is due to a lack of a replacement. Who wants to take over a failing Maple Leafs team partway through a season? Whether he was replaced or not, this team is going downhill. I think the decision to keep Paul there was the right one.
You make a statement that the Leafs have not won since Pat Burns left. I seem to recall the Leafs did not actually win the Cup with Burns. Pat Quinn won more games and more playoff rounds than Burns did… so the Leafs have not won anything (referencing regular season and playoff games only) since Pat Quinn left. And this, coincidentally, corresponds with the time Paul Maurice was hired.