This just in. The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Paul Maurice. I'm not particularly surprised by this because someone has to be the scapegoat for the poor decisions made by management and ownership.
Maurice was the fall-guy for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) and their incompetency just like Pat Quinn two years ago. MLSE should have realized two seasons ago, when they fired Pat Quinn, that the GM, John Ferguson Jr, was more to blame. How can a coach be expected to succeed when he is provided with sub-par talent on the ice?
It is a pitiful situation with the Maple Leafs now. They don't really have anything in the way of prospects (because they have all been traded away for aging players on the edge of retirement). The players they have now just aren't good enough to go anywhere. They've got tons of money wrapped up in essentially useless players, and the only players with any value have no-movement clauses in their contracts. Bleak times indeed.
Where do the Leafs go from here? Maybe they can get lucky in the draft. Do they make an offer to any young free agents? Jeff Carter is an RFA, and is someone worth making an offer to in order to start building the team around, but will Cliff Fletcher (or whomever his replacement may be) risk the ire of opposing GM's by sending Carter an offer sheet?
I'll admit I'm pretty embarrassed to be a Leafs fan. Ownership has jerked us around so much with false promises, and only doing "just enough" to get the team into the playoffs and help line their own pockets. Leafs fans have been jerked around for over 40 years now. And it looks like we'll be jerked around another 40 years...
I forgot to mention Mats Sundin. If he should decide to retire, then the Leafs are left without a captain, with no one currently on the team capable of stepping in to that role.
I wouldn't blame him if he decides to no longer play for the Leafs. He owes them nothing...
I am surprised. I thought Maurice was in an impossible situation. Signing Jason Blake was just an awful move, and the Leafs should have traded Sundin before the deadline when they had the chance.
Imagine what a team like Colorado could have done with Sundin coming back to the new Nordiques.
the leafs need more than just a head coach captain and general manager...honestly sundin screwed them all over with his no trade clause thinking he could get toronto in the playoffs...if sundin knew what was best he woulda waived his no trade clause and if he decided to play another year....im sure toronto would have signed him yet again...but the blame for the leafs in not the coach not the GM...its the players...there selfish and dont want to see toronto go anywheres.
I must admit, I'm very partial to Sundin. And to me, it seemed like management was trying to guilt-trip him into waiving his no-movement clause. If I were Sundin, I would have been more than happy to say "Screw you, MLSE." That kind of behaviour by the management is terrible. If they had half-a-brain, they should have been wise enough to not allow any no-movement clauses. Now the other guys that have them are mostly underachievers. In my opinion, he only one worth keeping is Tomas Kaberle.
Boneheaded moves:
- too many no-movement clauses
- trading away Tuuka Raske for Andrew Raycroft
- signing Jason Blake based on one decent season, while his others were just ok at best...
- trading away prospects and draft-picks for the likes of Ron Francis, Phil Housley, Brian Leetch (good players at one time, but aged and slow)... all of them leading the Leafs nowhere
- John Ferguson Jr... just not ready for the Leafs
It'll be a tough ride for the next little while for Leafs fans...
i agree with you goTO...couldnt have summed it any better...they did make alot of dumb moves under fergie....but maurice is no better...and yet another coach gone...cant really blame the coaching..they have had good coaches in the past but cant seem to get the players to play...i have watched a few leaf games this year and i think they have found a goaltender in toskala i do beleive kept toronto in a bunch of games this year...and ya i dont understand bringing in old timers and giving their draft picks away....foolish but hey look at detroit..got datsyk like 300th and zetterberg 7th round 210th or so....look at what they can do for the team...toronto needs to step up to the plate and get some young guns in there...and really start from scratch...ya keep kaberle and toskala stajan even as well...or for that matter wellwood...there young guys that have the scoring touch but just need to be consistant...Toronto is gonna be a good team in the next 5-8yrs...mark my words..they might even make the playoffs in the next 2 years but wont get very far...im not a toronto fan but my whole family is...and i can tell that toronto is struggling with players and consistency..to me toronto needs a good scouting team...thats what kills then in the offseason is the scouting they have...and then to top it off they need a coach that is gr8 at rebuilding teams...not winning coaches or coaches they think might do good..
We just gotta keep our fingers crossed. And I totally agree about keeping Toskala, Kaberle, and Stajan... Wellwood's a bit of a wildcard, just hoping he stays healthy.
I want the Leafs to do well, but so much has to happen before any results are seen...
so how come the CBC loves the leafs so much ? they foist that maple leaf #### on canadian from coast to coast all season long, they are just as a big a bunch of losers as the maple leafs are. it's all because of money, the don't give a dam about the hockey fans, just show more leafs, show more leafs, show more leafs, what a bunch of losers, and bob cole it's time you went to bed, you have also lost it, leaf lover and biased reporter.
The CBC's a whole other story altogether. It's been impossible to watch anything they put on the air. As for them broadcasting the Leafs nationwide, it probably becomes more of a politically motivated thing... supposedly the Leafs are one of Canada's favourite sport franchises, so they're guaranteed TV time...
I say they should play more of the Penguins or Capitals... such better teams to watch during the same timeslot.
It would also probably be a blow to ownership. If they realize that their cash-cow is drying up, then they may finally react properly and work towards building a real team, as opposed to a bunch of guys wearing the blue-and-white.
I agree with what you are saying, it's just that the cbc is so unflexible, they plan the games months in advance and even though a game with some significance comes up-they cannot adjust. 3 teams in the east, 3 in the west, surely they could rotate if nothing else and it would be better for all hockey fans, but cbc doesn't give a hoot about fans, they are as bad or worse than the leafs.
Absolutely... even with satellite, or digital cable, they usually broadcast the non-coast-to-coast team on the local CBC stations. But since I am in Toronto, they black-out those games outside, let's say Ottawa or Montreal. I may want to watch a Canadiens or Senators game once in a while, but they won't let me...
I'ts nice to have variety, and they have ways of doing it. It's like you said, goatman1, the CBC is too unflexible with their schedules... it's a shame...
I'm a Toronto sports fan. The Maple Leafs are my hockey team, the Raptors are my basketball team, and the Blue Jays my baseball team. I'll do what I can to stick with them through good times and bad, and always hope for the best. Lately, the Raps have been my number one team, and the one that has the best future right now.
I'll have my opinions that may be shared by others, or not. However, they are just opinions which are intended to get others to think differently about whatever topic they may be.
