Why the Leafs Still Suck by Al Strachan

Author:Al Strachan [Strachan, Al]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4434-0847-9
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2011-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

13

Eleven Years Too Late, Cliff Fletcher Gets Free Rein

In February 2008, the Leafs went back to the best general manager they’d had since they won their last Stanley Cup. The 2008 entry draft proves to be very fruitful, and a lot of deadwood became someone else’s problem. But in the long run, was too much of the future given away?

Cliff Fletcher was supposed to be nothing more than a caretaker, a guy who would keep the team on an even keel until a full-time general manager could be acquired.

In other words, the Leafs’ upper echelon knew that Ferguson couldn’t do the job, but hadn’t got as far as deciding what they were going to do next.

It was clear that the Leafs weren’t going to make the playoffs, and minority owner Larry Tanenbaum offered his hockey wisdom on that development as it related to the firing of Ferguson: “To be able to bring a Stanley Cup here, it’s hard to do that when you don’t have playoffs.”

Fans everywhere stood in open-mouthed amazement. Could this be true? Here was a concept that no one had ever considered. No wonder Tanenbaum held such a position of power with a National Hockey League team.

It was, of course, widely assumed that Fletcher would eventually be succeeded by Brian Burke. But the Leafs denied it. After all, Burke was under contract to Anaheim for another year, and he had insisted that he had no interest in the job.

Based on those facts, and the usual standard of integrity in the NHL, Leafs fans therefore knew beyond a doubt that the job had to go to Burke. But in the meantime, the charade had to be acted out. Burke had to insist that he already had a job. The league had to insist that there would be no tampering. The Leafs had to form a search committee that would consider all candidates.

Eventually, by a marvellous stroke of good fortune for the Leafs, the Anaheim Ducks decided that Burke could seek opportunities elsewhere, the league decided that there had been no tampering and the Leafs decided that Burke was the best available candidate. To see the universe unfold in such a fortuitous fashion almost brings a tear to one’s eye.

In the interim, Fletcher was in charge, and he wasn’t about to sit around idly. After all, an excellent case could be made that Fletcher’s record as a general manager was far superior to Burke’s, so there was no reason for Fletcher to think that any actions he took would not be good for the team.

With that in mind, he made a lot of moves. They weren’t all good, but that’s the nature of being a general manager. Even the best GMs make some questionable decisions. The trick is to make more good moves than bad, and Fletcher did that.

In fact, a single move in Fletcher’s “plus” column overshadowed all of the minuses of his second term: the acquisition of defenceman Luke Schenn.

The Leafs were to draft seventh in the

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