No, you're gay.
I'm not sure what to think of the Leafs' search for a president - often called a 'mentor' to John Ferguson Jr. by Toronto media. This could only ever happen to the train wreck that is the Leafs. To be honest, the whole thing makes no fucking sense.
MLSE brass has taken the following strange stance on JFJ: he has all the tools to be an outstanding General Manager in the NHL, but as of now is not an outstanding General Manager, and needs some guidance to reach his (supposed) potential.
Now, Larry Tanenbaum (MLSE Chairman of the Board) and Richard Peddie (MLSE President & CEO) do not see eye-to-eye on the issue. Peddie hired JFJ and wants him to remain as GM - maybe to see JFJ reach his (supposed) potential, thus making himself look competent. Tanenbaum, on the other hand, would like to replace JFJ with a more experienced GM.
Their compromise is to hire a president to guide JFJ to his (supposed) potential. They have kicked the tires on a few of hockey's bigger names - most recently John Muckler and Scotty Bowman - but the position remains vacant. Bowman flat-out refused both of the offers that were sent his way. Don't expect to see Bowman sitting in a blue convertible with the Stanley Cup anytime soon. There has been no word on the outcome of the interview with Muckler.
David Shoalts wrote an article on August 5th, claiming that Bowman was close to accepting the position. Bowman refuted the claim. Shoalts seems to have since retracted his article (how fucking bush league!), as it has been modified on The Globe & Mail's website since it was originally printed. The only portion of the current article on the website that reflects Shoalts' original stance is a caption, which begins, "Legendary coach Scotty Bowman is on the verge of accepting a job as president of the Toronto Maple Leafs."
Fast forward to today, when a Michael Traikos article claims MLSE has put the search for a president on the back burner. Apparently the Leafs will begin the season with a mentor-less JFJ as GM. Richard Peddie was quoted as saying, "We still are intrigued - that's the verb I'll use - by the concept of bringing in some help for John." Thanks, Rich. I am intrigued - thats the verb I'll use - that Leafs fans haven't rolled you up in a carpet and thrown you off a bridge.
Although the Traikos article spins the situation in such a way that MLSE seems to have slowed its search for a president because they are comfortable with JFJ at the helm, the more likely reality, especially considering the above Peddie quotation, is that nobody wants the job. After all, they are looking for a tried and true "hockey guy": a guy with the know-how, the experience, and the elbow grease to build a successful franchise. Why would any hockey guy want to take the position when he'd effectively be castrated by the Steinbrenner-esque meddling of Tanenbaum and Peddie? They are interviewing men that have had significant success in the NHL for a position surrounded by people that have not...on a team that finished in the bottom half of the standings two years in a row.
Proven hockey guys and big hockey names are what should have been mentioned when JFJ was originally hired as an inexperienced 36-year old best known for being a hockey guy's son. It seems that if the big names in hockey are being brandied about, they should be in the running for the GM position itself. JFJ has shown very little in the way of growth in the position, and it seems replacing him is as easy as hiring another layer of red tape.
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