Report: Toronto Maple Leafs fire GM
Ashley Gallant | National Hockey League
Jan 22, 11:14 AM | Hype this story!
TSN is reporting that Toronto GM John Ferguson Jr. has been fired from his position after the team has fallen to 14th in the Eastern Conference standings and has little hope of making the playoffs this season.
Ferguson did not comment when he was contacted, but he did say that he will not remain with the organization in any other capacity.
This news about Ferguson is far from surprising. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the only thing surprising about this story is that it took so long for the organization to fire Ferguson. There was much speculation that Ferguson would be replaced last season after the Leafs failed to make the playoffs for a second straight season, but they decided to keep him around even though Scotty Bowman was willing to come in and take charge. Furthermore, the drama continued into this season and escalated. It was just a matter of time before the Leafs cut him loose.
I, for one, do not like how MLSE kept Ferguson around for so long while they had every intention of firing him. The organization was openly contacting and interviewing candidates to take over for Ferguson, and they essentially took away his ability to make decisions as GM of the team. He should have been fired long ago and not strung along all this time.
There is no official word as to who will take over as GM of the Leafs, but it is believed that Cliff Fletcher will take over on an interim basis and that MLSE will launch a full-scale search in the off-season.
UPDATE – 1PM ET
Cliff Fletcher has officially been named interim GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has signed a 19 month contract with the team that includes the GM position and then time as a consultant with the Leafs. There is no time frame when his duties will switch from management to consulting. He has no interest in seeking a permanent position as GM.
Head coach Paul Maurice and the rest of the coaching staff will remain for the balance of the season, at the very least.
Comments
KG
Jan 22, 11:47 AM
Should be interesting to see how this effects the Sundin situation. Does MLSE give an interim GM (albeit a veteran GM) in Fletcher the “OK” to deal their franchise player?
Ashley Gallant
Jan 22, 12:10 PM
I think the biggest problem would be convincing Sundin to take the trade, since he has the no-trade clause and has made it very clear that he does not want to leave Toronto.
I think that MLSE would be okay with dealing Sundin at the deadline – even Leaf fans who love Sundin are calling for it – because the price for Sundin will be astromonically high. Sundin could get a chance at Stanley Cup, and then come back to Toronto in the off-season. Convincing Sundin to leave Toronto for the balance of the season will be the best thing for the Leafs right now. They need to rebuild.
ryan boyle
Jan 22, 12:58 PM
OOHHH HAPPY DAY!
I agree Sundin has to go, he’s welcome right back, but we need to get something for him while his stock is so high.
Plus, while Fletcher should be servicable till the draft i“d like to see some long term details.
AH who cares, i can worry about that later, i’m not going to let that take the smile off my face.
goLEAFSgo.
Ashley Gallant
Jan 22, 01:15 PM
haha I see someone’s happy that Ferguson’s out of Leaf-land.
If Fletcher can convince Mats to waive his no-trade clause….oooo watch out. I think this would be the biggest deadline deal in years. I wonder if Detroit would trade another young prospect (or three, along with a boatload of draft picks) at the deadline…
I watched the news conference awhile ago, and the thing that Peddie kept saying was that they wanted a ‘long term builder and a short term fixer’ to take over as President and GM of the Leafs. He was also very clear that they wanted someone who has proven to be successful as a manager in the NHL (i.e. no more rookie GMs). The team has already retained the services of Toronto-based sports lawyer Gord Kirke, who will guide the team in selecting their new guy. My guess is that they will start the search as soon as possible so that they can have the right GM in place this summer.
I wonder…could they possibly entice someone like Burke or Rutherford to leave the south for Toronto? The rumour mill will certainly be churning in the months to come, and those two are already being mentioned as people the Leafs could consider…Things are definitely going to get interesting
DaBich
Jan 22, 01:26 PM
LOL...yay for Ryan. His Leafs will get a chance to make something of the team now.
ryan boyle
Jan 22, 02:37 PM
haha, thanks guys.
Ashley, i agree Mats has got to go, maybe we’re lucky enough to just rent him to a team for the rest of the season. I mean at this point I think the only offensive player i wouldn’t trade would be Steen. If we could get rid of one of those huge contracts on defense that’d be great too.
Oh well, I’m sure Fletcher will be busy with the little time he has….
looking forward to getting better as we can’t get any worse.
Ashley Gallant
Jan 22, 03:01 PM
“Paul, would you have any interest in being the next GM of the Maple Leafs?”
“After we win about 3 Stanley Cups, I think that might be a nice transition.”
haha I’ve always liked Paul Maurice’s interviews…
So Ryan, out of curiosity, who would you keep on D and who would you send packing? McCabe…Kubina…Kaberle…?
Stoosh
Jan 22, 07:06 PM
McCabe and Kubina are going to be incredibly difficult to move. McCabe is on the hook for $6.15M next year and then $4.15M in 2009-10 and 2010-11, but will also cost $5.75M cap hit over each of those years. I can’t imagine any GM who would sign up for that.
Kubina? Not so much. $5M per year over the next two seasons in salary with a similar cap hit. Still might be tough to move, but not as tough as McCabe. I’d have to wonder how effective Kubina still is, though, relative to his salary.
If they’re looking to rebuild, Kaberle may have to be the guy to go. I get the impression that he’s the most productive of the three and he’s more affordable at a salary/cap hit of $4.25M over each of the next three years.
ryan boyle
Jan 23, 07:27 AM
Yea i have to agree, Kaberle is going to be the easiest to move, plus the Leafscan actually get something substantial in return. If you can get anyone to dump the salaries of the other 2 you have to do it, especially since it appears there are going to be some pretty nice Free agents available at the end of the season.
Oh and i love the quote from Paul Maurice, I hope they decide to keep him.
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