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Leafs Axe John Ferguson, Jr.Published by Toronto Mike on January 22, 2008 @ 11:33 in Toronto Maple Leafs
This move should have happened last summer, but I digress. We'll see if we go redux and bring in the man who led us to game 7 of the Campbell Conference finals. Damn you Kerry Fraser!
7 Responses to "Leafs Axe John Ferguson, Jr."Toronto Mike TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs fired general manager John Ferguson on Tuesday, replacing him with former GM Cliff Fletcher on an interim basis. The Maple Leafs, who have missed the playoffs the past two years, are 14th in the Eastern Conference standings with a 19-22-5-3 record. Fletcher served as GM of the Maple Leafs from 1991 to 1997. "Our team performance has fallen short of what is to be expected," Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, said during a news conference at the Air Canada Centre. "We need to forge the start of a new beginning for (the) Toronto Maple Leafs." Fletcher twice guided the team to the Western Conference finals. The 72-year-old is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. "We have reached out to Cliff Fletcher and his 50-plus years of hockey management experience," Peddie said. Fletcher, who received a 19-month contract, will work as a consultant after the new GM is hired. "I know here in Toronto the expectations are high," Fletcher said. "I look forward to the challenge and a few tough months ahead." The MLSE board of directors met on Monday and decided to make the change. Ferguson, hired as GM in 2003, was informed on Tuesday. Watch for Doug Gilmour's role to change - I predict he will be the next GM (only if Brian Burke is not accepting). Mike (Buffalo Boy) good for you guys wish someone down here would get the same set of balls and make a move before its too late. Well, better late than never, I suppose. My workplace productivity will shoot up dramatically I'm sure now that I'm not constantly waiting for this news to break. We'll see what Trader Cliff can do with this mess, let's just hope he's taken a bit of a softer stance than "draft schmaft" regarding picks. We need some blue-chip young players. GOOD GOD Dale, I hope you're wrong. Making Gilmour the GM wouldn't be progress, it would be regress! This move was a long time coming, but I was disheartened to see Peddie at the press conference saying he was going to play a major role in finding the next GM, not Fletcher. This organization just doesn't get it yet. Toronto Mike Peddie has to go - until he does, this is like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic.
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7 comments
Mississauga Mike
January 22, 2008 / 11:51
Everyone seems pretty happy with that move, but what happens IF the Leafs don't rebound well as a result of this? I hope this is a turning point as I suspect it will be.