It's Time To Re-Sign John Ferguson Jr.

For the past three seasons I have believed that the Toronto Maple Leafs were a playoff team. Clearly, my instincts have been wrong. Ok, horribly wrong. It's time for some George Costanza inspired thinking. It's time to re-sign general manager John Ferguson Jr. to a multi-year contract.

Like Jerry Seinfeld told George, "If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right." My instincts are telling me that John Ferguson Jr. needs to be fired and jettisoned out of this town, and fast. So, with that in mind, lets get his signature on a long-term contract. JFJ got us into this mess, lets give him a chance to get us out of it.

While everyone is enjoying shitting on JFJ (I've done it too, I admit it is rather enjoyable), I think the man is deserving of some serious props. He's trying to do his job in one tremendously fucked up working environment right now, yet he's still been accessible to the media. There he was Tuesday night doing an interview on Sportsnet during the second intermission of the Leafs game saying that, yes, at the end of the day, he was accountable for Toronto's lack of success. The man isn't hiding behind a rock, although he has every reason to be. He's facing the heat, and I've got to show him some love for that. His job is hanging by the thinnest of threads, and it can't be good times in the Ferguson Jr. household.

I can't also forget to mention the douchebag JFJ has to report to - his boss, the ever-popular, Richard Peddie. Peddie's the moron who passed on Scotty Bowman - passed on freakin' Scotty Bowman - and who publicly said that JFJ's hiring was a mistake. It's also common knowledge that Peddie and the Leafs are, and were months ago, looking for a replacement for Mr. Dead Man Walking, JFJ.

The thought has crossed my mind as to why JFJ simply hasn't quit. Why he hasn't gotten up one morning and said, "You know what? Fuck this. I'm gone," is beyond me. I'm sure there are financial reasons involved, but he has chosen not to take the easy way out. I send more props his way.

I mean, you've got Scotty Bowman coming on national television saying he was interviewed by Peddie and co. and Cliff Fletcher-mania all over the media in the last few days. JFJ isn't stupid (although many think he most-certainly is and, based on his track record, it's tough to argue he's not). He sees the media vultures circling his soon-to-be canned carcass, and his team, every day. My question is: how the hell is this man supposed to get any work done in such an environment? He still is, after all, the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The same Toronto Maple Leafs that have won two games in a row, baby (and last night's victory was in a shootout, to boot)! But, in all seriousness, how is Ferguson supposed to make a trade when rival general manager's know he's a lame-duck manager and almost certainly on the way out, be it in the coming days or weeks, or in the off-season. I don't think it's possible. Every other general manager should be trying to rip Ferguson off right now and if they're not trying to, they're not doing their job. If JFJ is desperate to make a trade to try and save his behind, he hasn't let it be known, and hasn't made a deal, and I give him credit for that. He's sticking to his guns, even though he's flat out of ammunition.

The reality of the situation is that decisions need to be made in regards to this Leafs squad. Vancouver had a couple of scouts in Toronto to watch the Leafs on Tuesday night and Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter took in last night's game in Boston vs the Bruins. The Leafs have a ridiculously tradeable asset in Mats Sundin, and someone, whether it's Ferguson or his replacement, needs to start working the phones. JFJ needs to know whether he'll be pulling the trigger on any potential trade, doesn't he? Only in Toronto, I swear.

JFJ's treatment by the Leafs is pretty pathetic. Either show him the door, or give him an extension. The fact that they would leave the man's fate hanging in the balance like this is sad, and shows complete and utter disrespect for the position, and for JFJ. After this most-public humiliation of JFJ, who in their right mind would want to come and join the toxic environment that is the Toronto Maple Leafs front office? Ownership should be ashamed of themselves, but they're probably too busy doing laps in their swimming pool's of dollar, dollar bills, y'all.

As for Richard Peddie, I'm sick of hearing the catcalls for his firing. Peddie isn't going anywhere. He should be removed from the hockey department, as he was with the basketball department (hence the Raptors meteoric rise), but the man isn't going to be fired. He's simply made MLSE and the teachers way too much loot. According to his most trustworthy wikipedia entry, since taking over MLSE, Peddie has tripled its value to over $1.5 billion. Peddie, although a douche, ain't going nowhere. Deal with it.

The JFJ tenure in Toronto hasn't gone exactly to plan, although since his arrival in 2003 the Leafs have reached the 40-win and 90-point mark in each of his three seasons. Injuries have screwed JFJ and the Leafs, royally, the past few years. A completely healthy lineup is a luxury this team hasn't been able to have. Sure, every team and every general manager has to deal with injuries, but the Leafs, as I've documented, have been cursed by the MLSE injury plague.

One needn't look further than the recent injuries to Carlo Colaiacovo and Mark Bell. Colaiacovo injured his knee, the same knee he had surgery on a few months ago, while skating innocently to the bench after the referee blew the play dead a couple of weeks ago against Philly. He collided innocently with Flyers forward Jim Dowd and, just like that, it was back to the injured list for Carlo. I can't, in good conscience, even call it a collision - they just bumped into each other. Carlo simply cannot catch a break. Bless his heart, the poor guy.

Mark Bell, on the other hand, is plain old stupid. When he was traded to Toronto over the summer I heard he liked to chuck knuckles. Well, turns out that was just a rumour. He doesn't do much knuckle-chucking, but he sure is on the receiving end of a lot of 'em. The man can't fight, but he keeps on dropping the gloves. I'm not sure if Bell was preparing for his upcoming springtime sojourn to, umm, jail, but it's safe to say he won't be fighting for the next little while. A few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, Penguins forward Ryan Malone broke Bell's face in a fight (if you could call it that). Bell went under the knife recently to repair facial fractures (ouch) and will be gone eight weeks. So much more Bell being the dark horse in the Vesa Toskala trade, eh?

The goaltending has also been unkind - ok, very unkind - to the JFJ years. JFJ, in his second year with the team, and coming off the lockout, re-signed Eddie Belfour and watched as Belfour had his worst season in a Leafs uniform. The Buds ended up missing the playoffs by two points, but JFJ was his own worst enemy. He had only himself to blame, for he should never have re-signed the old and creaky Belfour, especially to a ludicrous two-year contract.

JFJ's solution to the Belfour debacle? Good old Razor Raycroft. I'm not even going to go there. However, as bad as the Belfour and Raycrap moves were, JFJ rectified the situation this time around with Toskala. Vesa is one of the few bright spots this year on a moribund Leafs team.

Let's not, however, get it confused - I'm not making excuses for JFJ, even though it seems like I am. The Leafs haven't made the playoffs two out of the three seasons he's been at the helm, and the playoffs are looking like a pipe dream this year as well. That's really all that matters. And, in the understatement of the year, JFJ has made some seriously fucked up personnel decisions. Raycroft's at the top of the list, that's for sure, but there are a ton of others that simply didn't, and haven't, worked out: Eric Lindros, Jason Allison, Jason Blake, Mark Bell, Marius Czerkawski, Brian Leetch, Tie Domi, Andy Wozniewski, and more. I'm not including in that list guys like Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina, but I'm sure others would put them at, or near, the top.

I'm rambling now, but there is a point to all my drivel (isn't there always?). JFJ is man who has learned while on the job, and why not give him a crack at turning this ship around. Sure, we can bring in someone new and change everything up, but there are no guarantees in life. It's why I voted Liberal in last October's provincial election. Did McGuinty and the Liberals do a super job the past four years? Uh, not quite. Were they on the right track? In my opinion, yes. If we keep changing our government every four years, what the hell is going to get done around here? Not much.

Changes, especially the systematic ones that the Toronto Maple Leafs so desperately need, take time, and it's time we learned some patience in this town. So I'm all for rebuilding this Leafs franchise, from the bottom up, and I'm saying lets give JFJ a shot at it. Even George went up to that woman in the coffee shop and told her that he was unemployed and lived with his parents. He did the opposite, and I suggest we do the same with our beloved Maple Leafs. We must follow the lead of George Louis Costanza, one of the most brilliant, and most neurotic, minds of our time...

Paul Maurice Needs A Hug

In the wake of another blown two-goal lead and another heartbreaking defeat, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Paul Maurice got emotional. His job is not an easy one. He is a man in desperate need of a hug.

When asked about the effort of his team in a 3-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks, Maurice immediately choked up. The Leafs were, after all, a team that the media were reporting had quit on their head coach, but Maurice stood tall in praise of the men he commands.

"See, a big chunk of our problem is not lack of effort. It's wanting it so bad you're paralyzed by it," Maurice said.

Being paralyzed, especially in the defensive zone, and if your name is Andrew Raycroft, is certainly part of the Leafs' modus operandi, but I will agree that the Leafs played with much more determination, grit and heart in losing to the Sharks. As Damien Cox writes, the result was the same but there was actually some pride out there on the ice last night.

Now, I've watched many a post-game media scrum in my time as a Leafs fan, but never one quite like yesterday's. When asked whether the team's effort showed that the Leafs had in fact not quit on their coach, Maurice fought back tears, and I mean he really fought back tears. Losing 11 of the last 13 games has taken its toll on the coach, and it all came out last night. While the ship has slowly but surely been sinking, Maurice made it known that he was proud of each and every one of his men. His display showed me that he doesn't, not for even a split second, believe in his heart that the boys have quit on him.

Maurice's Hillary Clinton-esque moment also showed me how much of a competitor he is, how troubled he is by the Leafs' struggles, and how much he truly wants to win. Those bags under his eyes are real, and the plight of the Leafs is weighing heavily on his shoulders. While people all over this town, myself included, call for his dismissal, Maurice is at the end of the day just another working man, with a mortgage to pay and a family to feed. While his job of course pays more handsomely than most, it comes with the same amount of job security as losses this season for the New England Patriots: none. He could be unemployed by the time you read this, who knows? And that can't be a good feeling, especially when he is currently working what he calls "the job of his dreams."

As for the game, the Leafs blew a two-goal lead for the sixth time this season, this time a 2-0 margin in the third period. Toskala got the start in goal with Raycroft serving as his backup and Justin Pogge watching from the press box. Toskala, facing his former team, was brilliant. He did everything he could to try and get the Leafs a win, but it wasn't to be. My heart goes out to Vesa, who I know really wanted to win last night's tilt. He's been phenomenal for the Leafs this season. Along with Sundin, they have been about the only things that have gone right in a season gone so horribly wrong.

Going into the third period up 2-0, and down a man thanks to a Boyd Devereaux penalty, a Leafs collapse almost seemed inevitable, especially if San Jose was able to convert on their early power play. Convert they did, when Hal Gill was unable to clear the puck out of the Toronto zone. Gill then exacerbated the situation by inexplicably trying to play goal in front of Toskala. Patrick Marleau's point-shot went off Gill's stick, through Toskala's pads, and in. Cue the opening of the flood gates. The Sharks were then all over Toronto like Roger Clemens on a steroids syringe and the Leafs proceeded to take another couple of bonehead penalties (read: Jiri Tlusty is an idiot). With nine minutes left in the third period Toronto was suddenly down 3-2 and, like Vic Rauter always says, "you can make the final."

In the completely useless department, Dominic Moore made his Leafs debut last night and, well, debut is about all he did. He isn't going to be making much of an impact around here.

Ron MacLean, Don Cherry's whipping boy, pointed out that amidst all the turmoil and rumours surrounding the Leafs, it was fitting that they were finishing their hellish California road trip in the "Shark Tank." I couldn't agree more. It was a straight-up shark attack in the third period and the Leafs head home no longer an extremely fragile squad, but a broken one.

An interesting segment from last night's CBC broadcast was an interview with Scotty Bowman, who divulged that in August he did interview for a position with Toronto, even though he's denied it for months. Bowman said he had interviews and meetings with Larry Tanenbaum, Richard Peddie, and other members of the MLSE board, and that he was looking for a Bryan Colangelo type-deal with the Maple Leafs, at about the same price tag as the Raptors president and general manager ($3 million a year). Bowman wanted full control of all hockey operations. His track record, 10 freakin' Stanley Cups, speaks for itself.

So why the hell is John Ferguson still the general manager of our beloved hockey team? Because The Leafs passed, choosing instead to stick with JFJ and co. The Toronto Maple Leafs had a chance at Scotty Bowman, one of the greatest and most successful hockey minds of all-time, and they passed. Pardon my language, but that is un-fucking-believable. And deeply disappointing. Who knows when, or whether, the chance to bring in someone of the ilk of Bowman will come again. With decisions like these being made up at the top, it's no wonder the Leafs find themselves in the predicament they are in today - 16 wins, the fewest in the NHL, and 40 points, four away from being the worst team in the league. And lets not forget - nary a Stanley Cup sighting 'round these parts since 1967.

The Leafs, however, must soldier on. The team is off until Tuesday, and who knows if Ferguson and/or Maurice will still be with the team by then. If Maurice is let go, and I doubt he will be before Ferguson, he leaves not as a coach but as a fighter. I'll never forget the way he stood up for his team. He is a man of great integrity. I've said a lot of bad things about him in the past few months, but he gained a ton of my respect last night. It is when a man struggles that you learn the most about him.

The countdown until the axe falls continues. Will today be the day? We'll soon find out. It could very well be Sunday bloody Sunday. All in all, Paul Maurice isn't the only one that needs a hug. I think I do, too.

Tough times...