When Wasting Time Might Be Worth It

In the final analysis, these were 10 wasted months in the history of the Maple Leafs.

Of course, within the context of 41 years without a Stanley Cup, it seems like a momentary lapse of attention.

It all, the "transition" from the final dying moments of the John Ferguson Jr. regime to the Brian Burke era took all those months, killed thousands of trees to support the newspaper speculation rumour mill, permitted dozens of talking heads to claim "breaking" news and included more gruelling scrutiny of an incoming Leaf hockey boss than most U.S. judicial appointments.

You heard it here first - Burke will wear a red tie for his coronation tomorrow. Will it be the same red tie he wore when Anaheim won the Cup? Should he be wearing a red tie? Was Lou Lamoriello the first to get him to wear a red tie? How will Ron Wilson feel about the red tie?

All this is vital stuff, of course. Unless he goes with the blue tie.

Still, it's been fun, better than that summer that Ken Dryden went searching for a Leaf GM and came up with himself.

So were these 10 months worth it? After all, the team itself really only went backwards, although last night's final effort with Cliff Fletcher at the helm was a memorable one in which Vesa Toskala dazzled, the Leafs hit as much as they were hit and the new tough guy, Andre Deveaux, actually looked like he might be a decent hockey player.

But was it all worth it to end up with Burke, one of the most highly regarded managers in the sport?

Probably. See, at the end of the day, this was probably less about the actual team and more about the way in which this team is owned, or more accurately, controlled by a group of executives who for the most part, represent large companies but themselves own nothing.

When the inexperienced Ferguson was hired five years ago and and forced to accept the very experienced Pat Quinn as head coach, it was an effort by Leaf ownership to manipulate the structure of the club rather than actually affect positive change. Putting Ferguson in place, as awkward as it was, allowed Richard Peddie and the MLSE board to meddle and have their say on all the important hockey matters. It kept them in control after several years of having Quinn report directly to Steve Stavro and no one else. After four mostly competitive years, it was their chance to participate more fully in the success they believed would continue.

But Ferguson couldn't learn or function effectively in such a climate. He didn't bring in his own people and he tried to get along with one and all inside the byzantine MLSE corporate structure rather than stand up and fight. That just got him steamrolled in the end.

So now that process, and the process of three years outside the Stanley Cup playoffs with a fourth consecutive non-playoff season at hand, has forced the MLSE brass to take their mitts off the operation and give Burke total control.

He'll bring in his buddy, ex-Vancouver GM Dave Nonis, and all the suits will be cut out of the process, although Burke will surely be canny enough to make friends in high places.

But rather than a 10-month process, this was really a five-year process, from Quinn losing his power through a lockout that revolutionized the industry in many ways to Burke getting all of his authority.

Ten months you can probably live with. Five years, in retrospect, was a terrible waste of time.

Comments

[Peter]

sorry Damien, but you are wrong. the team did not go backwards. they started a process and going in the right direction. the team is a lot younger, a lot faster and they have the foundation for further development. Burke might not be the best GM in the league but sure he is a man who won't let the suits interfere with hockey decisions. so finally the management of the Leafs will look like the management of a hockey team.

[Pete Nardi]

"...with a fourth consecutive non-playoff season at hand...". Cox, this makes you just as bad as all of the "talking heads" whom you criticize. No one has a clue if we will make the playoffs this year, and that includes you. Oh ya, I forgot, you think you're the greatest so that means that you know. Some of your articles make a lot of sense because, although they're opinions, at least they're somewhat educated...sometimes. But why you had to, once again, throw in a cheap shot stating that we won't make the playoffs...it's beyond me. Stick to the facts please. I wish that once, just once, you would put your money where your mouth is and say, "If the Leafs do indeed make the playoffs, I will tell all of the readers that I was wrong." Instead, you might end up saying, "I knew it all along folks. This team was destined for the Cup after hiring Burke." Of course, that's all that you talking heads ever do.

[Guido]

Like him or not - finally the Leafs have a proven, respectable GM. You can't say that since Quinn was replaced. Whether the plan is good or not - at least there will be a plan for the next 6 years.

The one thing I do like about Burke is that he likes to take chances and make splashes on the big stage. I say this boads well for potentially packaging up some players to get Tavaras (assuming the boys don't finish at the bottom).

First signing should be Sundin - *but* without a no trade clause :) .. So Mats comes here gets in shape and then we ship him off to a Top 3 teams for a player and a 1st rd pick!

[Pension Plan Puppets]

Every day that JFJ was general manager was definitely wasted. However, I don't quite understand how you can think that the past 10 months were a waste.

If the Leafs had decided that Burke was their man 10 months ago then what course of action was available to them in the interim? Are you suggesting that they should have kept Ferguson in place until Burke was available?

And "the team only went backwards"? Well, can't have an extra column that couldn't make the paper without more of your disingenuous coverage.

[TML]

One of the best, most insightful pieces you've written, Damien, and that is saying a lot. Kudos!

[Scott]

Five disappointing years is correct. However, if those five years have led us to this point with Burke now in charge, as a Burke believer/supporter I think it will be worth it. Once the ship is turned around and righted by Burke I think we will be successfull for years to come. Time will tell but it's more fun being optimistic than pessimistic. And it's easy to be optimistic now with Burke in charge.....relatively at least.

[G Byatt]

A good summary of a dismal period. Here is my take on the situation(not a summary, but an analysis)

Any single person with autonomy will be a welcome change from the past half-decade. We must appreciate that the MLSE board probably put a great deal of effort and consideration into the management of the Maple Leafs, and have been successful in other ventures(see real estate). However, the measure of success was not one which we as hockey fans can tolerate. As a business organization, it has been acknowledged ad nauseum that the Maple Leafs will draw fans regardless of the product on the ice. Whether this is completely true or not, the team makes money and from a business standpoint, therefore, is successful. But, however pleasant and empowering it was for the board members to control the Maple Leafs, the simple truth is that teams that make the playoffs earn MORE money. Additionally, as seats cost more depending on which round of the playoffs they make it to, a team capable of even finishing second in the NHL(first time since '67) would be more valuable than a series of teams that make the playoffs and are vanquished quickly.
The result? It makes sense to us that they approach the goal of winning The Cup differently than they have, because obviously this way has been an utter failure. However, for the first time since they assumed authority over the hockey team, the MLSE Board members are realizing that it also makes sense(dollars) for them.

[Gabriel B]

Cox is saying the time was wasted because there weren't a wealth of players/prospects/picks, the last two especially, around after Fletcher's house cleaning. Many of you may feel that the team is much better than it was last year, and it might be, but the reality is Fletcher did some odd things including trading a pick for an older player in Mayers. Some of his actions seemed focused on maintaining/producing a competitive team for this season. If you will acknowledge that the ultimate goal is winning the Stanley Cup and that the only way to do that is to have one of the best teams in the league(circumstances being what they are) than you can probably agree that this team will have to be significantly upgraded before it has a realistic shot. If you can accept that and remember that it won't happen this season, the leafs should probably drop as far as they can in the standings and trade some of their players to get some future value for them. Then again, I think it's time to trade Roy Halladay as well.

Fletcher should have focused entirely on the future and he did not.

[charade]

Pete Nardi I have a newsflash for you: the Leafs are not making the playoffs this year.

Make peace with it now so it stings less come April.

[FlamFlim]

A massive waste of time Richard Peddie is responsible for. We all know who should be fired. Burke may not bring the Leafs any closer to playoff glory, but at least he'll try (unlike King Richard and his marketing genius subjects).

[Bruce]

I don't doubt the Leafs will come up with Tavares either by drafting him or trading. Burke always seems to get his man, when he wants him bad enough.
Lets hope he wants Travares bad enough.............

[Chris Belanger]

I think that he and his persona will attract more quality players / free agents to view Toronto as a good place to play (and not just before they go out to pasture). From that point of view, things will get better.

[Moe Green]

I think this city might well accept a short period of futility to build a solid contending team but let's face it: with four years of futility already under our belt can Leaf Nation (and MLSE for that matter) really be expected to accept a total of nine or ten consecutive playoff-less seasons? That is just not acceptable in this city - and it shouldn't be. I think this team needs to take the slow road to the rebuild, drafting well but putting a respectable team on the ice along the way. In many ways this is a more challenging path for any hockey executive to follow. In my opinion they need to kick-start the rebuild with a couple of serious free-agent aquisitions including a franchise player. Though "bums in the seats" has never been an MLSE concern, "eyes on the tube" might be. If the Leafs don't ice a competitive team soon, Leaf TV revenues may begin to diminish. "Revenue, schmevenue" as far as I am concerned, but I think this franchise needs a little more hope to cling to than Luke Schenn.

[Moe Green]

During his press conference Brian Burke called the Maple Leafs an "iconic brand." It is, and unfortunately so is MLSE. Toronto is frequently self-billed as the "centre of the hockey universe." It is. Simply because it is english Canada's largest hockey city. However, Leaf management has always been a league-wide joke. Now, with Burke and Wilson at the helm, it is my hope that it won't require excessive contracts to lure top free-agents.

[Moe Green]

I like how MLSE feigned surprise when Burke was released from the Ducks. Please. That along with Cliff losing the interem tag was part of the charade to snuff out any potential tampering allegations.

I think we often underestimate MLSE. They knew how bare the cupboard was. Can you imagine how poor the Leafs would have been this season without Mayers, Hagman, Grabovsky, Van Ryn, Schenn, Kulemin and Finger? Yikes! Cliff had to put something reselmbling an NHL hockey team on the ice this year to give us some reason to watch, a little hope for the future (Schenn, Grabovsky, Kulemin) and for MLSE to save a little face.

The next step for Burke is simple. Make some major dumps at the deadline for picks and prospects and identify and go after some key free-agent assets to define the core of this team. The Leafs do not need or want Sundin back, but what he brought to the team needs to be replaced, indeed enhanced, as soon as possible.

[Steve Barnett]

You know, all you people who write and tell Cox he is stupid etc...I have question for you all..what do you expect? Cox is a writer, he writes about what they tell him to write about..Did he ever play pro hockey? I dont think so..did he ever hang around a room full of pro players? Again I dont think so...Has he ever worked for a pro team...nadda..so what he says only means something if you believe he knows what he is talking about..Which I do not..He could be a food critic, movie critic or whatever. doesnt mean he knows what he is talking about...Would you get Rosie DiManno to represent you in court just because she writes about it?..Cox stirs up the pot so people react..Same as Bob McCown on the fan...He knows squat about sports, he just spews his opinion often slanted against the majority..Like right now he thinks Burke is not the man for the job..Because he knows everyone will react..Same with Cox..
He has all of you sucked right in..As you can see from the size of this blog and the reaction it recieves..The Star loves it and more than that Cox loves it...And I read it...but that doesnt mean I believe it...

[mark]

Well, for the first time in history, I agree with every single point you made Damien. There is hope for you yet.

[johnnyk]

Calm down guys.
Let's not mistake Burke for Sam Pollock or Frank Selke.
The Cup is as far away as ever for the Leafs, won't be hard for them to go 0-for-50.