TORONTO (July 15) -- The question I've been asked most frequently in e-mails over the past week is the same question I am pondering: Why is it taking the Toronto Maple Leafs so long to decide whether or not they want Michael Peca? In all due respect to the veteran forward -- who I feel would be a terrific addition to the Leafs -- we're not talking about a blockbuster move here. In the time this possibility has been on John Ferguson's desk, his MLSE counterpart -- Bryan Colangelo -- has re-made the NBA's Toronto Raptors from top to bottom. That may or may not be a fair comparison, but it's one that Ferguson will increasingly have to live with, given that both GMs are employed by the same ownership group. And, though the Leafs failed to make the playoffs last season for the first time in eight years, the Raptors are coming from many more lengths off the pace, having been among the NBA's most inept teams since 2001. The decisiveness with which Colangelo has drafted, signed and traded for players in recent weeks stands in direct contrast to Ferguson's patented deliberation. It would surely not be in Fergie's best interests to have the Raptors rocket past the Leafs into basketball contention. Not with JFJ dangling on the final rung of his four-year contract... The more I think of it, the more confusing it is that MLSE has left Ferguson in this untenable position. Across the hall, we have Colangelo -- one of the NBA's highly-acclaimed executives -- locked up in a lucrative, multi-year deal. Ferguson, managing the most popular and significant sports franchise in this city, is left to die on the vine. And it's all so pointless. How difficult could it be for same MLSE owners that shrewdly spirited Colangelo out of Phoenix to decide whether or not Ferguson represents equal value to their hockey club? Clearly he doesn't, or he'd also be basking in contract security. To me, it's just another example of the lack of urgency that has incapacitated the Maple Leafs for so many years. There is no particular impetus to hire a Colangelo equivalent on the hockey side, for all the reasons so familiar to fans who routinely line the Leafs' pockets. Unlike the Raptors, who would ultimately become trivial in the absence of achievement, the Leafs wallow along in mediocrity and indifference without the slightest tangible threat. In that regard, the Toronto hockey story never changes... People who suggest the Leafs should stay away from Peca boggle the mind. The veteran center is easily the most complete player still available on the free agent market and he's anxious to sign in Toronto at a cut-rate price. And, it appears that Eric Lindros is no longer near the top of the Leafs' wish list. Otherwise, he wouldn't be jetting around to Edmonton, Dallas and Los Angeles looking for work. Unless, that is, the Leafs are dithering with him as well. I'm not surprised, though, that many hockey followers in this city would overlook the value of a skater (Peca) with a proven capacity to boost his performance at playoff time. As mentioned above, that sort of accountability is almost non-existent in Toronto. Looking pretty during the regular season seems to be of much greater import. Thus the yearning for Anson Carter... Others, in the past week, have e-mailed asking for my opinion on the Leafs' playoff chances in 2006-07. Given the roster is not yet complete, that's a difficult conclusion to make. What we know is this: Ferguson has added a young goaltender (Andrew Raycroft) with a possible upside, but a goalie, nonetheless, that was not even as effective as Ed Belfour last season. And, Belfour was deemed unworthy of a contract extension by the Leafs. On the blueline, the Buds have added a talented defenceman (Pavel Kubina) coming off a poor season, and a plodding veteran (Hal Gill) capable of devastating opposition forwards, if he can catch up to them. While it deepens the Toronto rear guard, it doesn't necessarily put the club back in the playoffs. For that to happen, Kubina and Gill have to play effectively; Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle must improve on their excellent performances from last season, and at least two of the club's defence prospects have to prove capable of full-time employment in the NHL. That's a lot to ask of a team in the course of one summer. And with all that to be determined, we still don't know how the forward ranks will look. So, it's really impossible, at this stage, to figure where the Leafs fit in the Eastern Conference. Those, however, predicting a season of 100-plus points need a whiff of smelling salt... One element clearly working in favor of the Leafs in 2006-07 is their schedule. For many years, ex-coach Pat Quinn would grouse about the number of consecutive-night games, and the unbalanced nature of the schedule, with a preponderance of home games in the opening months. There is much more balance to next season's sked. In fact, the Leafs do not play more than two games in a row at home at any point in the season. And, as we've told you in this corner for the past couple of months, the team does not travel further west than St. Louis. The biggest challenge would appear to be the stretch of action between Jan. 16 and Feb. 8, when the Leafs play eight of nine games on the road at a time of the season when bodies are traditionally dragging. What could help, however, is the one-week span (Jan. 21 to 27) during the All-Star break in Dallas in which the Leafs are idle... Final question: Will John Ferguson allow coach Paul Maurice to announce his assistants before the start of training camp Sept. 14???
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