dave-O Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 This is one of the greatest things I've ever read:"Cliff Fletcher is the ideal person to lay the groundwork of positive change for the Leafs,†said Peddie. "As all of our general managers have had, he will have the autonomy and responsibility for all hockey decisions with a focus on establishing a foundation from which the next general manager can build. He will guide us through the upcoming trade deadline and toward the draft and free agent signing period." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The bold print above from dave-O is new signature material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The shit they try and sell is total garbage. I mean, how can anyone seriously be a fan of this team and not feel like they are consistently being treated with disrespect?That single comment from Peddie really illuminates the last editorial cartoon I posted.Once again I am blown away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The shit they try and sell is total garbage. I mean, how can anyone seriously be a fan of this team and not feel like they are consistently being treated with disrespect?That single comment from Peddie really illuminates the last editorial cartoon I posted.Once again I am blown away.If you ever listen to the fan 590, or Leaf Talk after the games, your questions will be answered. In spades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The shit they try and sell is total garbage. I mean' date=' how can anyone seriously be a fan of this team and not feel like they are consistently being treated with disrespect?That single comment from Peddie really illuminates the last editorial cartoon I posted.Once again I am blown away.[/quote']If you ever listen to the fan 590, or Leaf Talk after the games, your questions will be answered. In spades.He lives in Ottawa. The hockey world doesn't revolve around Toronto. Go Bruins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I know that Jaimoe, but thanks for your input(?)I was trying to say that Leaf fans are generally very dumb, thats why they keep shelling out the big bucks for crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I think I responded to you as Booche would have, but more gently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Wrong Jaimoe. I knew what Hal was getting at. He's not as thick as you are. Want proof?I know Jay fairly well - I was in the RTA program with him at Ryerson. Just an educated guess, but I think he distanced himself with Jambands.ca because the genre it promotes unfairly branded his band Uncle Seth. I've never confronted him about this (I never really see him anymore), but I think I'm right to some extent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Sources tell me that Larry Tanenbaum just fired Cliff Fletcher (B2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badams Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Sources tell me that Larry Tanenbaum just fired Cliff Fletcher (B2)lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badams Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 [color:blue]It wasn't a good run at all...Ferguson was a surprise hiring in August of 2003, beating out high-profile candidates like Neil Smith and Steve Tambellini for the position. Ferguson came on board with no previous GM experience, but worked as assistant general manager and vice-president and director of hockey operations for the St. Louis Blues. He was also a member of the Ottawa Senators scouting staff from 1993 to 1996. Under Ferguson, the Maple Leafs were geared towards winning in the present and never seemed to establish a long-term plan for success. He arrived in Toronto prior to the 2003-04 season with the hope of building a Cup contender, and made his mark quickly by adding veterans like centre Joe Nieuwendyk and defenceman Ken Klee. With the team competing well near the top of the standings, he also rented veteran stars like Brian Leetch and Ron Francis at the expense of prospects and high draft picks. With a stacked team in the postseason, the Leafs didn't make it past the second round and Nieuwendyk, Francis and Leetch made a quick exit. For the next three years, Ferguson's tenure with the Leafs was highlighted by more moves that rarely panned out. With the lockout looming the following summer and the league pushing for cost certainty, he didn't hesitate to re-sign 39-year-old goaltender Ed Belfour to a three-year, $16 million contract. Belfour was never the same after winning 34 games in 2003-04, with a back injury hampering the rest of his stint with the Leafs. Ferguson took more gambles when the lockout ended. He signed centres Jason Allison and Eric Lindros - players with plenty of injury questions - in August of 2005. Lindros played just 33 games in the 2005-06 campaign, Allison finished the year on the shelf and the Leafs failed to make the postseason for the first time in seven years. Ferguson faced more obstacles as the 2006-07 season approached, with his two top blueliners - Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe - set to become un-restricted free agents. He signed Kaberle to a five-year, $21.25 million deal, and locked up McCabe with a five-year, $28.75 million contract with a no-movement clause. He also added veteran blueliners Pavel Kubina (four-years, $20 million) and Hal Gill (three years, $6.3 million), giving the Leafs the second-highest paid blueline behind only the Detroit Red Wings. Ferguson also tried to upgrade his goaltending, shipping 2005 first-rounder Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. While Raycroft tied the Leafs' franchise record for most wins by a goaltender in the regular season, he was inconsistent for stretches and the team missed the playoffs for a second straight campaign. With one year remaining on his contract and no hints of an extension to stay with the team, Ferguson was in a lame duck position tring to get the Leafs back in the playoffs. Last summer, he made another move in goal by trading three high draft picks to San Jose for netminder Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell. He also tried to bolster the team's scoring, signing free agent forward Jason Blake with a five-year, $20 million contract. Bell is currently on injured reserve after facial surgery and Blake has only managed nine goals this season after a he scored 40 with the New York Islanders in 2006/07. The Leafs made one coaching change with Ferguson at the helm, replacing Pat Quinn in 2006 with Paul Maurice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badams Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 [color:blue]Another bit of news...Peddie said at a news conference today Fletcher's role would be to establish a foundation from which the next general manager can build, and a search for a permanent president and GM would begin immediately.Fletcher said today that he signed a 19-month contract with the Leafs that begins with his role as interim GM, with the remainder as a consultant with the team. No firm date is set for his move from GM to consultant, and Fletcher said he had no interest in being long-term general manager of the Leafs.Peddie said the next GM of the Leafs would be both a long-term builder and a short-term fixer."Sports attorney Gord Kirke and I will form the search team that will ultimately recommend the next president and general manager to the board of directors. (Fletcher) will serve as a resource to us in that process," Peddie said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak By Night Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 For the sake of the Leafs fans on the board, I hope Fletcher can soon orchestrate a trade as lop-sided as the 10-player deal he pulled off in 1992, which brought Doug Gilmour to the Leafs for a handful of nobodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I honestly thought JFJ's moves were going to be worse than that but I am probably somewhat biased since I feel for the poor lug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 The shit they try and sell is total garbage. I mean' date=' how can anyone seriously be a fan of this team and not feel like they are consistently being treated with disrespect?That single comment from Peddie really illuminates the last editorial cartoon I posted.Once again I am blown away.[/quote']If you ever listen to the fan 590, or Leaf Talk after the games, your questions will be answered. In spades.He lives in Ottawa. The hockey world doesn't revolve around Toronto. Go Bruins.We actually get the Fan 590 on digital cable in Ottawa. I sometimes listen to it when The Team is broadcasting infomercials/yank filler on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 Its also accessible via the world wide web Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I got in the car and the boys in Ottawa were talking about his press conference, in particular a portion when JFJ said he wanted to blow it up and rebuild but the board told him "No. Your goal is to make the playoffs."Idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badams Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 They have just been going around in circles for the last few years. The board and others kept meddling and JFJ didn't have the backbone to get anything done or the pride to walk away. At this point the Leafs are going to try and make some trades to get this all straightened out. It's going to take some time but someone will want to take this job. The man who can bring The Cup to Toronto will rule Canada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Low Roller Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Tie Domi for GM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassedOutGuy Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Sent to Leaf fans on their list today...Dear Bob,Tuesday we made a difficult decision for our hockey club. We announced that John Ferguson's contract as vice president and general manager, which expires June 30, will not be renewed and as a result he has been relived of his duties effective immediately.These decisions are always difficult from both a professional and personal standpoint. John is as fine a man as you will meet. He's a man of the highest integrity, who withstood often unfair public criticism with dignity and class. He represented our organization and our community in a first class manner. We will always be grateful to John for his passion, dedication and commitment to putting a winning team on the ice. We wish him well in what we expect will be a long and productive hockey career.But after thorough consideration of the Leafs situation, it became clear that change and a new direction is needed. Regrettably, we didn't win enough games and reach our goal of winning the Stanley Cup. Our record, and our opportunity to be a playoff team and compete for the Stanley Cup, has fallen short of what is expected.The process highly-regarded by Leafs fans and by hockey people around the world. We have reached out to Cliff and his 50-plus years of hockey management experience to serve as interim general manager of the Leafs.Cliff will have the autonomy and responsibility for all hockey matters with a focus on establishing a foundation from which the next general manager can build. He is the ideal person to lead this transition. Cliff will join prominent sports attorney Gord Kirke and me on the search team that will recommend to our board of directors the best person to serve as the next general manager of the Leafs.We believe that being general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs is the top job in hockey. The person who fills this job will be both a long-term builder and a short-term fixer who has an established track record of success on the ice. Along with the foundation of knowledge in the areas of drafting and identifying talent in the professional, amateur and international ranks, he will work effectively with the media and be comfortable within the intense scrutiny that characterizes the Toronto hockey market.To those of you new to Leafs Nation, Cliff served the Leafs as team president, chief operating officer and general manager between 1991 and 1997, guiding the team to the conference finals on two occasions. There's no better man in hockey to lead us successfully through the upcoming trade deadline and toward the draft and free agent signing period. His expertise affords us the opportunity to conduct our search without the constraints of time deadlines in order to bring the best general manager to Toronto.This has been a difficult season for all of us - fans, players, coaches, and staff. While the title on my business card reads president and chief executive officer, I'm also a fan. I share the frustrations we all have felt that come with falling short of our expectations. I believe every member of our organization, myself included, can look inside themselves to find things they might have done differently to alleviate the situation we find ourselves in.I am fully confident that we will achieve both the short-term and long-term success we all desire. And I believe the results of our efforts will bring the Stanley Cup home to Toronto where it belongs. That is the number one priority of every member of the Leafs organization.On behalf of our entire organization, I thank you for being a valued member of our team.Sincerely,Richard PeddiePresident and Chief Executive OfficerToronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 John is as fine a man as you will meet. He's a man of the highest integrity, who withstood often unfair public criticism with dignity and class. He represented our organization and our community in a first class manner. We will always be grateful to John for his passion, dedication and commitment to putting a winning team on the iceThen why didnt you treat him with the respect he rightfully deserved you asshat. What a cock. If Leaf fans werent so stupid he wouldnt try and pull this shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 The man who can bring The Cup to Toronto will rule Canada. I wonder if Fletch will be able to swing a deal with the Knicks for McCabe, Tucker and Kubina? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 Peddie is on Prime Time Sports lying his ass off and Bob McKown is pulling his punches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I can't believe they are buying his lies, even if Peddie tried to come off as an honest man with the Rob Babcock story regarding the Carter deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now