Leafs Problems Start Right at the Top
Posted 11:26 AM ET | Comments 1
The most painful part of being a Leaf fan has much more to do with what happens off the ice. Why is it that Sundin is in the midst of one of his best seasons and yet the leafs are in the midst of one of their worst in Sundin's tenure? Why is it that Toskala looks like a goalie that is worth a first and second round pick but the leafs are still 29th overall? The answer: the leafs are, and would be, the most profitable franchise in hockey no matter if the board of MLSE had MBA's or flunked out of high school. Harold Ballard proved you could even be partially insane and still make money with the Leafs. Peddie and Co. have proved you can have managerial impotence and still be numeral uno when it comes to profit. It's not the on-ice product that really matters, its the bottom line. However, they did budget for one round of playoffs and that is the real reason why JFJ will lose his job, only after it becomes painfully clear that goal is out of reach. As fans we like to talk about how trades, contracts and drafting affect the Leafs and how poor of a job Fergie has done in these areas, Rask for Raycroft would cost any other GM his job, but that is not how JFJ is judged by the baord of MLSE. Its time to fully turn the leafs over to a Hockey Guy, MBA or not. I truly believe JFJ could have done a better job if he had full autonomy to run the team, we'll never know, Good-bye JFJ, we won't miss you. Your successor won't have a chance in H E-double hockey stick at turning this around unless the MLSE does what it did for the Raptors, change the way it does business. The only way this change occurs is if the Leafs continue to tank, no three game winning streak will change things this time....MLSE has been exposed, their problems are at very top.
This team has no chemistry and the way it was built, I'm not surprised. It's hard to build chemistry on a team that seems to be put together one day per year....July 1st Free Agency. Instead of making trades on draft day like the Leafs usually do, they should use that day for what it is meant for....drafting players.