Begging For Dismissal

Saw this once with the late Pat Burns back in March, 1996. Nobody knows when its all over faster than the head coach, and after a game in Denver against the Avalanche, Burns' basic reaction was a shrug of "what-can-I-do?"

He knew it was over. On the flight home, it was.

That's what Ron Wilson looked like last night after his team's ninth loss in 10. The fact that he seemed to lob a soft note of discontent at GM Brian Burke, noting sourly that the team "did nothing" at the trade deadline, just seemed to accentuate the overall impression that Wilson knows he's getting fired and has no new answers to turn this team around.

But he remains the head coach of the Leafs, and this is where the legendary stubborness of Burke, the same stubborness that insisted Dan Cloutier could lead Vancouver to the promised land when he could not, begins to switch from asset to liability.

There's still time for the Leafs to make the post-season. There's no downside at this point to letting another voice take over. The worst that could happen would be the team would disintegrate further and get a top five draft pick.

A team that made a reputation in recent years of starting slow and ending (too late) with a rush has now done the opposite, playing a cruel trick on Leaf fans. But its a young team with a future, and a team that might very well respond to a quick change of leadership.

Can't think of a GM who has so loyally stood behind a coach he didn't even hire. Burke's long-term friendship with Wilson has something to do with that, as does his general distaste/reluctance for firing coaches in general and firing them in mid-season specifically.

But Leaf fans, those who love this team and pay good money to see it play, deserve at least the sense that every option has been explored to get the team back to post-season play for the first time since 2004.

Burke could go interim coach, with assistant Scott Gordon the likely option since he has NHL coaching experience. Or he could reach out to another trusted former colleague, Randy Carlyle, and let him take over for the remainder of the season, although he'd have to commit to a multi-year contract on that. The only reluctance to hiring Carlyle might be his prickly nature with the media, something Burke has identified as a key factor in Wilson's inability to gain popularity in Toronto.

Me, I think it had more to do with all the lost hockey games.

Going interim has the advantage of being able to look at all candidates this summer. Going with Carlyle now has the advantage of being able to start on next year now.

There's no advantage in simply running the same play over and over for no gain.

 

For more, go to: DIMANNO: Leafs have no excuse for embarrassing effort 'Fire Wilson,' fans chant as Leafs fall to Panthers Five questions: Leafs turn to Gustavsson to end five-game tailspin

Comments

[John Fretwell]

I grew up behind Maple Leaf Gardens been a fan since parked my first car in my backyard, so have watched leafs up and downs, at one time there was great pride in leaf nation???????
Take a look at Montreal they, don't get French coach (screaming) don't win (leave rink disgusted, in navy and watching Montreal game they leave the TV room, riots if player injured?
Pride !!!!
Lets get a Canadian GM and a Toronto coach, and T.O.
Players Put something into the team
Something to cheer
I am a hockey fan can watch all teams without prejudice except Montreal
John Fretwell
Parry Sound

[Cybergy]

Mixed feelings...
Look, Wilson is not getting the job done - BUT I will always have trouble getting behind a group of millionaire "professional players" who stop working...for ANY reason.

[Ron]

The reason why Burkie is holding off firing Wilson is because deep down he knows he hasn't been able to ice a team that is any better than average. He has made some good moves and some questionable moves(Kessel) and some questionable acquisitions(Lombardi etc.) but to be fair to Burke the cupboard was totally bare when he arrived. The way I see it is someone should have pulled a Raptor approach and admitted in the fall that this team was still a couple of years away from success and the pressure on Wilson et al would have been much less and the expectations more realistic. Anyone looking at this group that knows anything about successful teams would realize they are not ready yet for the big time.

[Gopal]

Carlyle? No thank you. But Dallas Eakins? I'd definitely be willing to give him a shot next season. Give Gordon the interim tag and let's put Wilson out of his misery already.

[Moe Green]

Agreed completely Damiend and well said. I heard that softly spoken comment by Wilson and how he quickly changed the subject with a non-sequiter about "tentative starts." Wilson should be replaced now. It doesn't matter so much with whom he is replaced so much as when. As you say - this team deserves a chance. They sure appear destined to crumble to the bottom under Wilson. What can it possibly hurt?

[susan.w]

Hallelujah. Please fire him now. Now.

[Vol]

Burke is a genius.He has everyone think that its the coach that is the reason the team is losing.If he had fired Wilson last year or the year before and gotten a new coach,it would be Burke on the chopping block now.

He doesn't make a big move at the trade deadline cause that would show incoming new owners that he didn't know what he was doing the last four years.

By Burke refusing to fire Wilson until the bitter end has secured Burke another 4 years.

[Mike in Pittsburgh]

Ron Wilson-1400 games coached...not one Stanley Cup. He had teams in San Jose that finished first overall and lost in the first round to teams that just squeeked into the playoffs.

They placed him in the company of Bowman, Arbour and Irvin at the 1400 game milestone. They fail to mention those three combined had 17 Stanley Cups as coach.

Only in Toronto is this type of mediocrity accepted.

[Nick]

Gotta agree with Cox on this. Wilson's time is up, but it may serve no purpose in firing him now and bringing in an interim with 19 games left. The Bylsma's, Boudreaus and Hitchcocks worked because they were given far more incubation time to gel their team. With 19 games left on the schedule, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that could miraculously turn this ship around. Ride the wagon until the wheels fall off. Release Wilson in the summer, bring in a coach that can motivate a young team and go gangbusters like what Ottawa is doing right now. (God, it pangs me to draw a comparison to Ottawa).

[DS]

One of the really bad things that occurred under JFJ (and oh boy were there a lot) was the accumulation of overpriced, mediocre players that don't have any intensity or play hard. I was really happy when Burke took over that he started shipping these guys out: Stajan, Toskala, Hagman, Stempniak, etc etc. And what has Burke done? He has replaced them with another group of even worse overpriced veterans with no intensity. We have over $10 million invested into a third line of Lombardi, Armstrong and Connolly. That has to be the worst line in hockey. An anchor in Komisarek and what appears to be another looming anchor in Liles (why did Burke re-sign this guy with Gardiner now playing, and Blacker and Holzer coming?). Overall, I think Burke has made a lot of good moves in terms of accumulating young, skilled players, the fruits of which won't be seen for a few years yet, but his NHL roster is terrible. Major changes need to be made apart from Wilson. The D needs to be completely reconstructed. if Suter is available in the summer, the Leafs need to seriously consider signing him and then trading Phaneuf. That third line needs to be moved out or buried in the minors. They need to somehow add a franchise forward to provide leadership and take some pressure off Kessel and Lupul. Leaf fans, start praying for Devils financial troubles and a possible Parise FA. And they need to bring in a goalie that can actually support the team when Reimer is fighting it.

[Chad]

i agree with Glen. they need to shut down Reimer for the season. i like the kid, but he's done for this year. let him work things out over the summer and make a fresh start next year.
give the net to Gustavsson for the rest of the year. he's a UFA in the summer so he's playing for a contract. we should be using that to our advantage!

and what the heck is going on with Phaneuff? last year in the 2nd half he took this team by the horns and lead them on a great run. he played with an edge. he played like a Leafs captain!! this year? GONE! and i'm not talking about stats. his number this season are good, there's no denying that. i'm talking about leadership! Scott Stevens was never a big numbers guy, but he was argueably one of the best captains in the game in his prime. Phaneuff needs to man up. Be the Captain!!

[Tom Blumenthal]

At the risk of being unctuously ingratiating (which I really don't want to be), it's refreshing to see your unvarnished opinion on the Wilson situation today. Leafs fans do deserve better than this, and I don't believe it is all Wilson's fault as I write this, but this team needs a shake up. In my worst moments, at a time of the season like this (late)...I would wish Mike Keenan on them to kick some folks in the coat-tails.

[Musclehead]

What you see on the ice is a direct reflection of the coaching. Very little emotion. Ron needs to light some fires and coach to win not just to collect a paycheque. That being said, Eakins may be mentally suited but I don't think he can get the needed reaction out of the players ala a Burns or Tortorella style of coach. Leafs need a big wakeup call that mailing the games in is not acceptable. Too many look more like they are playing not to get injured more than to win at any cost. This team could be renamed the drive by's with the little contact they make. This is still hockey right?

[Jim]

Bill, I'd like to see you do a live media interview 20 minutes after making a mistake like that - that's why they said Schenn has character. Most people would run and hide while a character guy faces the music and doesn't throw others under the bus.

Although, after reading your example about your wife screwing up supper I suppose you're probably at least 60 years old and a bit out of touch.

[leeflaffer]

Ron Wilson has lost his team, so why let the agony drag on. This team just will not play for him. I agree that someone has to light a fire under these players. Gripe as much as you want about the top line (Kessel/Lupol/Bozak), they are basically the only line producing. The defence was supposed to be one of the best in the league for the last few years. They had Gill, Beauchemin, Kubina, Komiserik, Kaberle, Phaneuf, etc (big dollar guy) who pretty much have done nothing except make the Leafs the worst defensive team in the NHL. I agree with other posters.....they should all be paid a base salary with performance bonuses, at least they would need to compete if they wanted money. I feel bad for Wilson as he has a goaltender coach who is trying to re-train our existing goalies into something they are not (never liked the butterfly style anyway). However, he has not handled his situation very well.....mixing up and shuffling lines every time there is a drought in scoring, etc. he knows he is gonna be gone, so why not help him deal with it now rather than put him thru another couple months of misery.

[DR - New jersey]

Where can I sign up for an email alert notifying me when Ron Wilson gets fired?? This way I won't have to keep checking the Star's Sports section every 15 minutes!

[Stephen Prymak]

Firing Wilson is long overdue, Burke has been carrying this has been so he can get in the record books at the expense of Leaf fans. We have seen this team play well this season but they seem to get no direction or motivation from Wilson when things go wrong, apologies and "we'll do better next time" don't get us in the playoffs. Burke should have grabbed Kirk Mueller but unfortunately he isn't as smart as that GM.

[Bob Smith]

As a long time Red Wings fan, I hope they keep both Burke and Wilson so the playoff-less streak continues.
Seriously, has any coach in the NHL with this dismal a record, stayed on this long. Get rid of the U.S. connection

[Sherman]

At least he got his contract extension for xmas

[80s Leafs]

Watch a Sens game lately and you often see Paul MacLean and his walrus-like 'stache hunched over one of his players on the bench, explaining something, pointing something out, or advising them, correcting something. Do you ever see Ronnie doing that?? All you see when the camera pans to him is that same "Did that really just happen??" look on his face that we fans have on our faces after yet another Leaf on-ice miscue, gaffe, blatant mistake, utter screwup, etc.

[Natalie]

It isn't the players that aren't working, it is the sytem the coach is telling them to play that isn't working. You can't expect even the most highly paid players to keep on putting in maximum effort every night trying to make a flawed system work. It looks to me like they have had enough.

[mats sunin]

ron wilson is just fine you can only coach so much lets fire the leafs and bring
up the marlies.

[Karnac]

When Luke was asked "what did Ron say to the players after the game" the response was that "He said nothing, but then again win or lose he never says anything.......This speaks volumes as to the atmosphere in the dressing room......These players are afraid to speak their minds less be banished to the press box or the Marlies.....

[Guest]

Wilson does look done.

If the Leafs want a great coach, they should wait until the Coyotes move and grab Dave Tippett. What that man has done in Phoenix is nothing short of miraculous.

Until then, time to break out the Waffles.

[Rob Zio]

Agreed, Wilson has to go, but Burke should follow him. More importantly, their replacements can't simply be the next best tandem available. This might be the logical approach for every other team in the league, but it won't do for the Maple Leafs.

What this management team has never understood and what I'm afraid it can't possibly ever understand (because the corporate suits who hired them never understood) is what it means to run the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's not politically correct but many of us are thinking it; so I'll say it: What are two Americans doing running the most storied and iconic hockey team in Canada. In Burke's own words on the day of his hiring he said the Leafs are to Hockey what the Vatican is to Roman Catholicism. Can you imagine the next Pope being a non-Catholic?

I am not suggesting that Burke and Wilson are not great hockey minds. No doubt they are; their career records are admirable. Running this team though is akin to running the Yankees. Can you imagine the hiring of a Yankee GM and manager who aren't unmistakably connected to that great city and team- Applicants without pedigree and unmistakable affinity would not even get a sniff. Running a national trust like the Leafs is as much a matter of the heart as that of the mind. If your heart beat is in synch with Leaf Nation...well first of all, you wouldn't call it Leaf Nation (I've always hated that slick contrived corporate moniker that always felt like a marketing response to Detroit claiming themselves to be Hockey Town)...if you truly understood the team and this city you wouldn't be so intent on running your American Olympic Program at the same time as your N.H.L. team. Komisarek, Bozak, Connolly, Liles, Steckel, Crabb, Brown, Gardiner and Kessel.

I don't fault Burke for his personell decisions; you select what you know and what you are comfortable with. It stands to complete reason that someone completely fluent with and connected to the NCAA and practically running USA Hockey would naturally look to find talent there and possibly over-estimate the capacity of a player like Bozak. I wouldn't suggest that the remaining American Leafs are a bag of hockey pucks, but it does concern me when Leaf management personel decisions seem to so naturally default in favour of American born players.

My best example concerns two rookie players who I believe have the most natural talent and upside on this team. Getting Jake Gardiner was an incredible steal. The poise, skill and hockey instinct this young player has exhibited excites me tremendously. Wilson is using him as he should. He is getting tons of ice time, his mistakes are understood as part of his development and as a result he is brimming with confidence and developing every shift. On the other hand you have Nazim Kadri. Of all forwards in the Leaf system, Kadri easily shows the most natural hockey ability. He has incredible hands, wonderfully exciting hockey vision and can make plays others on this team can't even imagine. When he's on the ice fans get excited because they know something special is likely to happen. How is this high first round Canadian kid treated? He has had to play three years with a justified fear that any mistake would earn him a trip to the farm.

Serious suggestion here. Give Quinn or Fletcher the GM posting again, they can call Steve Thomas presently sitting on Yzerman's right hand in the Tampa Bay press box and offer to groom him as a future replacement. Bring Dougie Gilmour over from Kingston to finish out the season behind the bench. These are guys that truly bleed blue, warriors who the fans justifiably love. The ACC would be filled with cheers of Dougie, the booing would turn to cheers and this young team can feel for the first time what it means to be a Maple Leaf.