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Ferguson Needs Confidence More Than Help

June 14, 2007, 2:19 PM ET [ Comments]
Howard Berger
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
TORONTO (June 14) -- Whether it is Scotty Bowman, Ken Holland, Colin Campbell or others, it comes as no surprise that the company which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs has its radar on an NHL executive that would oversee the operation and development of the hockey club. This behind-the-scenes pursuit has been on-going for several years; it is directly the result of a well-known divide among board members that has existed since the very moment John Ferguson was hired as general manager in August, 2003. Some will suggest this is happening because the Leafs have been spinning their wheels in the post-lockout NHL; others, like myself, believe Ferguson has never had a real chance to ply his trade in an environment that breeds success. Ferguson and his rep -- long-time football agent Gil Scott -- have been all but promised the beleaguered GM will get a two-year contract extension before the end of this month. Until that happens, however, Ferguson will soldier on in typically lame-duck fashion, as he works under the option year of his current deal.

This is also a difficult time in his personal life. John's father -- Montreal Canadiens legend John Ferguson Sr. -- is struggling in the advanced stages of bone cancer, and is not expected to survive much longer. Sadly, I know what it's like to be losing a parent to cancer and the effect it can have on your every waking minute. So, this is not a juncture in life that Fergie will happily reflect on. That said, he has an important job to do, and I am of the strong opinion he has erred by re-assembling the cast that failed to make the playoffs for a second consecutive spring. It is the easiest route to take for a GM in professional sport -- to bring back your "own" players, unjustly reward them, and then hope things will be different the next time around. Rarely, does it pan out.

That's why I have repeatedly stated I do not believe the Leafs have worked particularly hard for their enormous fan-base since April. I didn't feel that way last summer and I predicted in a column on this site that the club would re-claim a post-season spot in the Eastern Conference. I felt the signing of Mike Peca would add character and sand-paper to a soft team, and that Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill would round out a fairly deep defence unit. And though it hasn't yet paid off, even the trade for Andrew Raycroft showed some initiative and creativity, given that he was only one season removed from winning the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie-of-the-year. Nothing worked the way the club thought it would. Injuries took their toll, as they had the previous two seasons, and will in the future. No excuse, in fact, is as lame than playing the injury card.

More importantly, with the possible exception of Kyle Wellwood, no young forward on the roster left the impression of one day advancing to front-line status. Beyond Wellwood, an ageing Mats Sundin, and the energetic but one-dimentional Darcy Tucker, the Leafs are choked with a bevy of third and fourth-line centres and wingers... a group that requires modification, not re-assembly. To wit, I again ask you to compare the young Toronto forwards (Stajan, Steen, Ponikarovsky, not-so-young-anymore Antropov, Pohl, etc.) to the top young gunners on some of the teams ahead of the Maple Leafs in the standings.

To Ottawa (Heatley, Spezza, Fisher); Buffalo (Vanek, Roy, Pominville, Stafford); Detroit (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom); Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, Staal); Anaheim (Getzlaf, Perry, Penner, Kunitz). We're not talking the same animal here. To be fair, many teams are in a similar position to the Leafs, and several are even weaker up front. Toronto has a youngster named Jeremy Williams who has been productive briefly in the AHL and may become a good big-leaguer as soon as the coming season.

Free agency beckons. With the exception of Curtis Joseph, it hasn't come close to putting the Leafs over the top in previous years, and it probably won't in 2007-08. My argument is that many more openings should be available to players that weren't on the club in '06-07. It was way too easy to again hand roster spots and new deals to Ponikarovsky, Antropov and Boyd Devereaux. Others, albeit harshly, would suggest that Sundin and Tucker could have been viewed with a more discerning eye. Under no circumstance, as I've mentioned, should 23 of 30 players that suited up last season be in training camp again this September.

Why, then, you ask, do I apparently contradict myself by throwing my support behind Ferguson? It's a legitimate question. And it's one I cannot answer by referring to past performance. But, I have an inkling -- and it's heightened by others I've spoken to privately in the business -- that Fergie is a sharper hockey executive than he's proven to be so far. And that he could become more aggressive, more selective, and less inclined to take the safe route if he operated with a bit of confidence from above. Perhaps I'm dreaming. As I've said in prior columns, maybe Ferguson is what he appears to be. Certainly there are those among his employers who feel exactly that way. But, I think he's deserving of a true shot at managing in a suitable environment -- something he's never been accorded.

As such, I'm not yet willing to cast Fergie as a career underachiever. He clearly has a long way to go, but he might well surprise a few people if given the proper chance.

As far as Scotty Bowman is concerned, perhaps he'd be the perfect individual to oversee the Toronto franchise. No one in the NHL today is quite so possessed with knowing the strengths and weaknesses of every player in the sport -- from top-of-the-line stars to three-minute-a-game hackers. But, it's important to keep in mind that Bowman's strength has always been his ability to manage a game from behind the bench. Coincidentally or not, the roughest patch of his otherwise splendid career occurred during his years in complete control of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1980s.

Scotty has also been keenly aware of putting himself in a position to win. He brilliantly juggled the egos and personalities on the four-time Stanley Cup champions in Montreal (1976-79), though many believe it would have been nearly impossible to screw up that situation. He later saw an opportunity to join a Pittsburgh team with Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis, and was in a position to coach the club after the death of Bob Johnson. Later, Bowman stepped into a wonderful circumstance in Detroit, and put the finishing touches on three more Cup titles with the Steve Yzerman-led Red Wings (1997-98 and 2002).

Even the most fervent supporter of the Leafs would acknowledge that the current situation in Toronto is a departure from anything Bowman has considered since leaving the Sabres in the late-'80s. That's why I believe he is being honest when answering he's not interested in taking over the Leafs. But only time, of course, will tell.

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