Our Lady of Perpetual Hell

Thank you, Pittsburgh.

And allow me to take the opportunity to add, “Go Nashville”.

Okay, that’s settled, so let’s just move on and see what we can do about all those other no-trade/no-movement clauses that Junior granted in contract negotiations as GM.

He’s gotta be asking himself.

I haven’t weighed in on the question of whether or not Mats should accept a trade to another team. And much as I hate to say it (because her sports writing normally makes me wanna jump offa the ledge), I think that Rosie hits the nail closest to my thumb with her piece in today’s paper.

Sundin was asked whether he feels the need to justify himself, in the arena of public opinion. “I don’t think I have to. I don’t think it’s my problem, do you?”

These difficulties have been created by others – most particularly Ferguson’s mismanagement, the regrettable and handcuffing contract boodles that have saddled the club with five no-movement players and wages for others so out of whack that few trade partners would take them on.

For his part, Sundin accepted a one-year extension last summer, at far less money than he could have demanded, to give the Leafs salary-cap space.

He’s done enough, not to mention unspooling one of his most splendid on-ice seasons in years.

Sundin doesn’t deserve to carry the cross, or be nailed to it.

Indeed, he does not.

And throughout his career as a Leaf, he has carried himself with an extraordinary amount of class and dignity, especially when you consider that he’s been stuck with the role of the on-ice face of such a fucked-up organization.

I respect his feelings about the rental-player trend that has cropped up in the years since Ray Bourque left those perennial losers in Boston for a chance to win a Cup with a strong Avalanche team. I don’t like it either. I can certainly understand why he would prefer to play a whole season with a team and earn the right to fight for the Cup rather than just slide in at the tail end of the year and reap unearned rewards. (Well, that’s how I look at rental players, anyway.)

He hates the whole late-acquisition-for-hire concept, even as Fletcher seems incapable of understanding why any player would decline the opportunity to compete for a Cup, with time running out.

“I never believed in rent-a-player to start with. If you want to be a part of a team that has a chance to win a Stanley Cup, or a team that is going far in the playoffs, my opinion has always been that you want to be there from training camp, the whole season, part of the group.”

In the world of professional sports, Sundin is a heretic, that way. And now his selflessness is being portrayed as selfishness, even that old un-Canadian-boy chestnut resurrected – a Swede who just doesn’t feel the passion of the Cup chase, in his bones.

Mike’s conclusion is a good one, too, but I would make an addition (in bold)…

Whatever he opts to do, Toronto hockey fans and the Toronto media should be thanking Mats Sundin for all the wonderful memories he has provided instead of ripping him for his eventual decision. He is, at least, owed that much.

Looks like MLSE braintrust (sic) may be looking to Mats to boost them outta the hole they’ve dug for themselves. He shouldn’t hafta do that.

Hey, remember when I got an email from my close personal friend Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr, who wrote to me to explain why he’d just fired Pat Quinn as coach of the Leafs? Well, lo’ and behold, I just got an email from my equally close personal friend Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club President and CEO Richard Peddie who wrote to me to explain why he’d just fired John Ferguson Jr as GM of the Leafs! Wow, I sure have friends in high places, eh? Guess you’re going to have to reconsider all that face-pulling and eyeball-rolling and hand-gesturing you do behind my back, aren’tcha?

Back then, my good pal John told me that his decision to fire Pat was ‘at least as much about the future as it is about the past. I looked at the long-term picture, beyond just next year… 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.’

A season later, our team failed to reach the post-season again. This season looks like it is a write-off, too.

But, back then, John continued, ‘Our failure to qualify for the playoffs is not solely attributable to our coaching staff.’

Well, he sure got that right. Let’s see…

(Ferguson) arrived in Toronto prior to the 2003-04 season with the hope of building a Cup contender, and made his mark quickly by adding veterans like centre Joe Nieuwendyk and defenceman Ken Klee. With the team competing well near the top of the standings, he also rented veteran stars like Brian Leetch and Ron Francis at the expense of prospects and high draft picks. With a stacked team in the postseason, the Leafs didn’t make it past the second round and Nieuwendyk, Francis and Leetch made a quick exit.

For the next three years, Ferguson’s tenure with the Leafs was highlighted by more moves that rarely panned out.

With the lockout looming the following summer and the league pushing for cost certainty, he didn’t hesitate to re-sign 39-year-old goaltender Ed Belfour to a three-year, $16 million contract. Belfour was never the same after winning 34 games in 2003-04, with a back injury hampering the rest of his stint with the Leafs.

Ferguson took more gambles when the lockout ended. He signed centres Jason Allison and Eric Lindros - players with plenty of injury questions - in August of 2005. Lindros played just 33 games in the 2005-06 campaign, Allison finished the year on the shelf and the Leafs failed to make the postseason for the first time in seven years.

Ferguson faced more obstacles as the 2006-07 season approached, with his two top blueliners - Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe - set to become un-restricted free agents. He signed Kaberle to a five-year, $21.25 million deal, and locked up McCabe with a five-year, $28.75 million contract with a no-movement clause. He also added veteran blueliners Pavel Kubina (four-years, $20 million) and Hal Gill (three years, $6.3 million), giving the Leafs the second-highest paid blueline behind only the Detroit Red Wings.

Ferguson also tried to upgrade his goaltending, shipping 2005 first-rounder Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. While Raycroft tied the Leafs’ franchise record for most wins by a goaltender in the regular season, he was inconsistent for stretches and the team missed the playoffs for a second straight campaign.

With one year remaining on his contract and no hints of an extension to stay with the team, Ferguson was in a lame duck position tring to get the Leafs back in the playoffs. Last summer, he made another move in goal by trading three high draft picks to San Jose for netminder Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell. He also tried to bolster the team’s scoring, signing free agent forward Jason Blake with a five-year, $20 million contract.

Bell is currently on injured reserve after facial surgery and Blake has only managed nine goals this season after a he scored 40 with the New York Islanders in 2006/07.
- credit - TSN.ca

He continued, in his letter to me in April of ‘06, ‘(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.’

Well, one of the changes required to put a club together that will be more competitive in the short-term, and that will achieve the goal of competing for a Stanley Cup on a consistent basis, and winning the Cup, in the years ahead turns out to be… firing John Ferguson Jr!

According to my good buddy Richard (or “Dick”, as I like to call him). Who emailed me today…

Dear Carla,

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 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.

(and here he seems to have had a wee glitch as it seems some text is missing - I am providing this email to you as-is)

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,
Richard Peddie
President and Chief Executive Officer
Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club

So a change and a new direction is needed. (Again.)(Still?) Apparently, we will achieve both the short-term and long-term success we all desire. (Ooh! Does that mean I finally get to have a pony?!) I am really not sure how the hell he expects to achieve both short-term and long-term success. It seems to me that the Leafs have been trying that balancing act for years, now, and it hasn’t fucking worked. Mebbe we should just fuggeddabout the playoffs for the next year or so (the short term) and concentrate on making moves that will build a talented young roster (for the long term).

The new interim (19 months contract) GM is (the old GM) Cliff Fletcher. His job, if I understand this correctly, is as some kinda waiter. He said he was gonna ’set the table’, or something, at the press conference today. Said he wasn’t gonna stick around ‘cause the job of GM is for ‘younger people’. Well, I guess that means Scotty Bowman and Moses are outta the running to be named successor.

Good luck, Cliff. You’re gonna need it. Feel free to email me any time. Dick has the address.

Aw, darn. Now we’ll never know what his grand ‘plan’ was.

*cries crocodile tears*