Who's head will Roll in T-OH?

barry33 · Guru

Who's head will Roll in T-OH?

heet_150 · Guru

The problem, Barry, is that the majority owner of MLSE is The Ontario Teachers Fund. They don't give a tiny rat's behind about the success or failure of the club on the ice. Their only concern is to cash in. As long as JF Jr keeps the team profitable, he is golden in their eyes. Look how long Richard Peddie has kept his job. The Raptors are a woeful team, but, they earn a profit.

Sure, you might think that the team would earn extra funds in a playoff round or two, but in comparrison to merchandise revenues, it's peanuts. There is no incentive for this team's management to ice a competitive team.

wright · Veteran Member

barry33 wrote:

Well another pathetic season for Leaf's fans leads one to wonder who will be on the unemployment lines with Julien. There is little doubt that either Ferguson Jr. or Pat Quinn will be saying buh bye after this season (barry33 predicts that the axe will fall the day after their final game). You all know my thoughts on this. I say keep the coach and can Ferguson Jr. Ferguson has made some totally boneheaded moves since taking over the post and did ZILCH to prepare his team for the post cap era in the NHL. In fact, quite the opposite. He goes out and signs guys like Belfour, Domi, Lindros, Allison, and O'Neil to big contracts. Guys who were obviously well past their prime and overpriced salary cap hogs. To make matters worse he goes out and gets Luke Richardson back at the trade deadline..nice. He has traded away all the decent prospects and they are still left with nothing. Now some may say that Quinn's time has passed and he can no longer coach in that league. This may be true. But I think that given the terrible lack of talent that JF Jr. has goven him to work with, he has not done a bad job at all. I say give him a chance with some decent hockey players. If the team continues to lose, then you can fire the coach. I just do not feel that Pat Quinn's performance can be judged with what he has had to work with. Ferguson Jr. on the other hand, has stunk the place out and is in over his head. But I am pretty sure that in the "cover thy own ass" attitude that prevails in the NHL, Fergy will still have a job, meaning Quinn will be the odd man out.

All good points when it comes to Ferguson's performance, and from that perspective he should go. Nonetheless, Quinn has had the good fortune of having above average goaltending through out his entire tenure in Toronto, until this season. The below average performance of Belfour this season has unmasked some of Quinn's liabilities as a coach. Far too loyal to vetran players who can't deliver. I know you admire Sundin, Barry and justifiably so, but Quinn has under utilized him. Sundin consistently gets less than 20 minutes a game and historically been saddled with having to play with some very poor wingers, Jonus Hoglund, Antropov come immediately to mind.

Additionally Quinn has never been noted for being a very good strategist, does not match up lines very well or for that matter his defense pairings leave something to be desired. This year the Leaf's had one of the worst records on 5 on 5 hockey, yet in a critical match up with the Habs, he had them practicing the powerplay, one area that did not need improvement.

No question, Quinn was set up to fail this season with Ferguson's questionable personnel moves, but Quinn also did not seem able to squeeze the most out of the team. Not that i am a Leaf fan, but living in Toronto I got to observe them up close (unfortunately).

The Kahuna · Guru

The problem with the loafs is, even though they haven't had a serious run at the cup in 39 years, they've sold out almost every game since 1967. If the fans want a better team and heads to roll, they need to stop patronizing bad hockey. Of course most of the seats are sold to corporations whose people rarely watch the game...on 2nd though, status qou in TO, I like the way they've run the team for the past 4 decades

24 Rings · Guru

barry33 wrote:

barry33 predicts that the axe will fall the day after their final game.

barry, is that really you or And-o?

The Kahuna · Guru

Quinn & Fergy fall! That's my prediction.

-- Edited by The Kahuna at 16:59, 2006-03-28

barry33 · Guru

24 Rings wrote:

barry33 wrote: barry33 predicts that the axe will fall the day after their final game. barry, is that really you or And-o?

Geeeeeeesssssssssssshhhhhh 24 why don't ya just shoot me and get it over with ?

Nil d · Guru

barry33 wrote:

24 Rings wrote: barry33 wrote: barry33 predicts that the axe will fall the day after their final game. barry, is that really you or And-o? Geeeeeeesssssssssssshhhhhh 24 why don't ya just shoot me and get it over with ?

Too funny you guys! Know what, Two-four? When I saw the heading of this thread, I assumed And-o had started it! It just seemed like his kind of topic. Koivu and the Habs are doing well, so I would have expected him to start talking about the Leafs.