"Hiring John Ferguson Jr was a mistake". This is what Richard Peddie, the President of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, told the Toronto Sun. To me that spells the beginning of the end for JFJ as the Toronto Maple Leafs GM. But this statement also raises a couple of questions.
Hiring Ferguson, who had no prior experience as a GM at the time, was a mistake, I agree. But it seems more people than JFJ are at fault here. Peddie also said, "To be honest, it was a mistake on my part for not fully understanding at the time what the job of being (the Leafs GM) in this market fully entailed," Why is this guy calling the shots when hiring a new GM if he doesn't know what the job means? At the same time he says, being a GM in Toronto means you are under the constant microscope and scrutiny, because the Leafs is the top hockey market there is. Then why the heck did they hire a rookie for the job?
This summer they were looking for senior adviser to help out Ferguson. Now Peddie says they are not about to make any hasty decisions. It seems to me the Toronto Maple Leafs are tip-toeing around, trying to push back the inevitable.
The fans are angry (they have been for some time now), the media is calling for change, heck, people who don't even care about the Leafs are yelling for them to do something.
After this I think it will be hard for the organization to just keep going in the same direction much longer. It is time to clean out and start over. This organization has been mishandled for way too long now. A team of such great history and tradition deserves better than the incompetence that pervades the Maple Leaf's front office.
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