Further to my previous post, it's now official: JFJ is no longer employed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Cliff Fletcher is the new (interim) general manager. Fletcher signed a 19 month contract (a seemingly random period of time) to guide the team through the trade deadline and the entry draft. It seems likely that Fletcher's replacement will be on board before the start of the 2008/09 season.
"I'd like to thank my wife, as well as all of the fine young men that I've had the privilege of working with over the years. Oh, and vodka. I'd like to thank vodka for getting me through the tough times, and for making my face this red."The Press Conference
Fletcher and Peddie sat together at the press conference and answered questions, as is the custom. The sly bastards that they are, they dodged almost all hockey questions. Peddie deferred all hockey questions to Fletcher, because 'the GM should be the one addressing all things hockey related'. Methinks this was part of Peddie's attempt to show how transparent he is with respect to day-to-day operations...even if the truth is he's a meddling bastard. Then, when hockey questions were directed at Fletcher, he put up his guard and said something along the lines of, 'it isn't fair for me to comment on anything hockey related because I haven't met with players or team officials yet, so at this point I'm still basically an outsider." So the hour long press conference (that I watched on my work computer screen while listening via an iPod headphone that only reached about as far as my knees) was a long, drawn out piece of shit that told us only what was obvious: JFJ is gone.
The press conference was shit, that is, until the floor was turned over to reporters. It was an absolute zoo. Some of the faces / voices I recognized: Elliotte Friedman, Pierre LeBrun, Steve Simmons, Howard Berger, Paul Hendrick, Damien Cox, Mike Zeisberger, and Cory Woron. In addition to those swingin' dicks, there were several faces I didn't recognize. The room was packed with the same writers and reporters that often bitch and moan about how much media attention is given to the Leafs. Simmons and Cox even got a little catty with Richard Peddie, refusing to accept his corporate speak about the direction of the team and his general managers having full autonomy over hockey operations. Good on them for that one. Yesterday, the two biggest failures in the history of Toronto newspaper sports writing were the voice of the Average Leafs Fan.
Going Forward
It's interesting to me that the only real information offered up by Cliff Fletcher was that Paul Maurice will stay on as coach, at least for the remainder of the season. After all the talk about how he won't comment about hockey stuff just yet, he gave Maurice the vote of confidence. This seems to be a pretty clear indication that the coach has the support of the board, and that the motive for replacing the general manager at this stage of the game was that he was thought of as incapable of making reasonable personnel decisions to improve the team.
Damien Cox asked Fletcher what the profile of the new GM would be. Fletcher gave two characteristics of the man he is looking for to replace him: [1] a great track record, and [2] success in the NHL. The men that possess those characteristics are all employed by other teams, and the Leafs' only opportunity to land such hockey minds is during the summer when their contracts expire.
The next big question is: why the fuck would a successful GM want to take over this trainwreck?
A Personal Letter From Richard Peddie
OK, not really personal, but as a Leafs 'Insider', I was sent a letter from the CEO...complete with spelling mistakes! It even had my name on it. At this rate, I think Peddie will let me go up his shirt by next weekend.
Anyway, if you're interested in reading the letter - despite the fact that it's longer and more boring than a Peter Jackson movie - it is below:
Dear MR. BONE,
Tuesday we made a difficult decision for our hockey club. We announced that John Ferguson's contract as vice president and general manager, which expires June 30, will not be renewed and as a result he has been relived [sic] of his duties effective immediately.These decisions are always difficult from both a professional and personal standpoint. John is as fine a man as you will meet. He's a man of the highest integrity, who withstood often unfair public criticism with dignity and class. He represented our organization and our community in a first class manner. We will always be grateful to John for his passion, dedication and commitment to
putting a winning team on the ice. We wish him well in what we expect will be a long and productive hockey career.
But after thorough consideration of the Leafs situation, it became clear that change and a new direction is needed. Regrettably, we didn't win enough games and reach our goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Our record, and our opportunity to be a playoff team and compete for the Stanley Cup, has fallen short of what is expected.
The process highly-regarded by Leafs fans and by hockey people around the world. We have reached out to Cliff and his 50-plus years of hockey management experience to serve as interim
general manager of the Leafs.
Cliff will have the autonomy and responsibility for all hockey matters with a focus on establishing a foundation from which the next general manager can build. He is the ideal person to lead this transition. Cliff will join prominent sports attorney Gord Kirke and me on the search team that will recommend to our board of directors the best person to serve as the next general manager of the Leafs.
We believe that being general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the top job in hockey. The person who fills this job will be both a long-term builder and a short-term fixer who has an established track record of success on the ice. Along with the foundation of knowledge in the areas of drafting and identifying talent in the professional, amateur and international ranks, he will work effectively with the media and be comfortable within the intense scrutiny that characterizes the Toronto hockey market.
To those of you new to Leafs Nation, Cliff served the Leafs as team president, chief operating officer and general manager between 1991 and 1997, guiding the team to the conference finals on two occasions. There's no better man in hockey to lead us successfully through the upcoming trade deadline and toward the draft and free agent signing period. His expertise affords us the opportunity to conduct our search without the constraints of time deadlines in order to bring the best general manager to Toronto.
This has been a difficult season for all of us - fans, players, coaches, and staff. While the title on my business card reads president and chief executive officer, I'm also a fan. I share the frustrations we all have felt that come with falling short of our expectations. I believe every member of our organization, myself included, can look inside themselves to find things they might have done differently to alleviate the situation we find ourselves in.
I am fully confident that we will achieve both the short-term and long-term success we all desire. And I believe the results of our efforts will bring the Stanley Cup home to Toronto where it belongs. That is the number one priority of every member of the Leafs organization.
On behalf of our entire organization, I thank you for being a valued member of our team.
Sincerely,
President and Chief Executive Officer
Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club
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