It’s Pat
April 21, 2006
What follows is the (disingenuous sounding) email I got from my close personal friend John Ferguson Jr. yesterday:
Dear Carla,
Today we announced that Pat Quinn has been relieved of his duties as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This was a difficult to decision to make, but one that is in the best interests of our club going forward. I reached this decision after evaluating this past season in its entirety, and considering what we must do to return our team to the level of competitiveness that we all desire.
This decision is at least as much about the future as it is about the past. I looked at the long-term picture, beyond just next year. For us, the future starts today, and it’s important that we begin with a coach who can be with us for years to come as we build this club into a championship contender. It’s time for a new perspective, a new approach that will ultimately yield the results we all expect-a team that competes for the Stanley Cup on a consistent basis.
Given the success that our club had in eight years under the guidance of Pat Quinn, this was not easy action to take. I know our entire organization and our legion of fans join me in thanking Pat for representing us in a first class manner through the years.
Our failure to qualify for the playoffs is not solely attributable to our coaching staff. However we must take all necessary steps that will move us forward. We are examining all aspects of our operation and will make the changes required to put a club together that will be more competitive in the short-term, and that will achieve our goal of competing for a Stanley Cup on a consistent basis, and winning the Cup, in the years ahead.
We will begin immediately the process of filling our coaching vacancy. This is one of the premier coaching jobs anywhere in the hockey world. I’m confident that we’ll hire the right person to lead us to our ultimate goal of winning a Stanley Cup.
There are many reasons for optimism going forward. This season we had two players in the top 10 in NHL rookie scoring, eight players who made their NHL debut, 12 rookies that played and we finished with a team record 26 home victories.
Since we’re in the unfortunate position of not being in the playoffs, this is an ideal time to accelerate the building process that we began this season. Today’s announcement is key to that process.
I will be in touch with you in the coming weeks as we make other changes.
Thank you for your continued support of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Sincerely,
John Ferguson
General Manager
…and, to be honest, I’m not surprised that Quinn was fired, but I’m not so sure that he deserved to be. Frankly, the team did better than I expected it to this season. And Quinn wasn’t responsible for signing (or re-signing) the players who were so unimpressive this season—that was Junior’s handiwork.
Was it Quinn’s fault that he was saddled with unimpressive performances from a slew of veteran players? No. It was Quinn’s fault, however, that he relied so heavily on those vets for so long even though they were stinkin’ up the joint. Once he had no choice (thanks—if I can say that—to injuries), he played the youngsters and—as everybody now knows—they were a lot more impressive and fun to watch than any of the mooks that Junior signed/re-signed. But I believe that Quinn is a smart man, capable of learning from his mistakes. And so I think that the makeup of his lines next season would’ve borne more resemblance to the lines that he was using at the end of this season than those he (fruitlessly) relied on during most of the rest of it. But now I guess we’ll never know. And I freely admit that I’m prolly just being as presumptuous as Junior is in the last sentence of his email…
I wouldn’t have minded seeing Quinn moved out from behind the bench and back to the GM position—leaving the coaching position available for somebody new (in a perfect world, Brent Sutter). And what about Junior? Given a choice between the two of ‘em, he’s the one I’d’ve fired.
I am still pulling for Pat to coach his way to getting his name engraved on the Cup. Just wish it could’ve been with Tronna.
Me with my close personal friend Pat.
