TORONTO (Sep. 25) -- With the Maple Leafs between exhibition starts, and with Ron Wilson beginning to understand the challenge his group of forwards might present this season, there was precious little to talk about on an otherwise quiet Thursday. Filling the void, somewhat conveniently, was Larry Tanenbaum, chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment – the company that owns and operates the Leafs and the Air Canada Centre. Tanenbaum showed himself at the hockey club’s practice, which resulted in an instant swarm of reporters intrigued with more than just Wilson’s line combinations.
Then, it happened.
A media wag made the unconscionable mistake of asking the chairman a hockey related question.
Understand something here. When I mention Larry Tanenbaum, I’m referring to one of the finest individuals you will ever meet. A kind person and a true philanthropist, Larry T has long been a business icon in this city. He’s a man of prodigious wealth – all of it earned – and is extremely generous with his riches, having recently donated, for example, $1 million of his own money for medical research at Mount Sinai Hospital here in Toronto. Inherently shy, Tanenbaum normally allows others in the MLSE chain to do the talking for him and he adroitly shelters himself from open ridicule. Today, however, was an exception.
Tanenbaum was presented a conundrum. Asked whether he’d prefer the Leafs to win a quick Stanley Cup followed by years of mediocrity, or have years of mediocrity lead to a possible series of championships, he chose Door No. 2. But, the question presumed that MLSE can do one or the other. In the post-lockout NHL, this company has shown it hasn’t a clue about icing even a respectable hockey team. Now, the chairman is suggesting that, hey, we could probably find players that would put us in instant contention, but why do it the easy way? Let’s be patient and go the sure route by assembling a flock of stallions that will lead us to the Promised Land, and keep us there. In other words, the choice has been MLSE’s all along.
This, of course, is patent nonsense. In Tanenbaum’s years affiliated with the hockey club, the Leafs have botched up every conceivable method of attaining Stanley Cup posture. Prior to the advent of a salary cap, the club wielded its financial might on an annual basis – purchasing depth and talent [but rarely both] in free agency, while thrusting player development into the distant background. Interestingly, only once did the Leafs actually land a Grade ‘A’ free agent in the prime of his career, and Curtis Joseph provided several years of false bravado. Though he tended goal spectacularly, management could not surround him with a championship cast and he frequently covered for glaring deficiencies in other parts of the roster. So, attempting to buy a Stanley Cup never came close to fruition for MLSE.
Now, we’re to believe that the same ownership tandem can achieve the ultimate reward by joining the post-lockout universe – three years late. The stockpiling of premium draft choices is absolutely the path to prosperity today, but when in recent annals have the Maple Leafs shown they can establish a workable plan, and stick to it? And, why are any of us to assume that the money moguls have finally figured it out; simply because Larry Tanenbaum told us so earlier today? I think not.
Neither Tanenbaum, nor any person at the top of the MLSE chain, should ever answer a question relating to the Stanley Cup. Asking this company about its formula to win a National Hockey League championship is akin to requesting a foreign policy blueprint from George Bush. Or, seeking Adam Sandler to play a dramatic role. Some things simply do not work, and Larry Tanenbaum chatting about a design for success in the NHL is most certainly among them.
Under normal circumstances, MLSE would have long ago snuffed out its credit with the public. Luckily for Tanenbaum, Peddie and Co. it resides in a region that embraces hockey – and the Leafs – as a virtual habit. As a result, there is no apparent limit to the number of chances the company will be accorded by a fatally devoted fan base. Still, these people know the difference between a successful businessman discussing matters of personal expertise, and an accomplished business-person suggesting he understands the vagaries of professional sport.
That chasm was flagrantly evident, once again, in Tanenbaum’s appearance before the notebooks and microphones earlier today.
But, this isn’t to blame the messenger.
Asking the question was the real sin.
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