The Toronto Maple Leafs GM Search
5 Unusual Candidates for the Position as the Leafs Top Executive
Finding a new head honcho for the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely require some out-of-the-box thinking. With that in mind, here's a list of some off-the-wall candidates.
After what may have been the longest death watch in pro sports history, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally tied the can to GM John Ferguson Jr. In his place, they hired Cliff Fletcher as short-term janitor.
Fletcher’s job is to clean up the mess, or at least sweep as much of it as possible under the carpet. The real job of turning this debacle into a winner will fall to the guy CEO Richard Peddie and lawyer Gordon Kirke pick as the new capo di tutti capo of the hockey operation.
Plenty of names are being bandied about as possible objects of the Leafs affections: Detroit GM Ken Holland, Anaheim’s resident genius Brian Burke and long-time Carolina guy Jim Rutherford.
Unfortunately for the Leaf Nation, these 3 are unlikely to want to come to Toronto, even though Peddie calls it the best hockey job anywhere. For one thing, they all run successful operations elsewhere. Unless one of them is smitten with the idea of bringing Lord Stanley’s blessed beaker back to HogTown after 41 long years, why would any of them want the grief?
That’s why Peddie and Kirke will have to think outside the box and look to the less obvious candidates for someone who might bring that certain "je ne sais quoi" to the table.
Therefore, as a service to them – and by extension all Leaf fans – the following is a list of some alternative candidates to act as the local Moses for the shinny set: The one who will lead them out of bondage, through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.
Scotty Bowman – A little old and currently employed as an advisor to the Red Wings, Bowman is perhaps the best qualified of all the available candidates. Not only does he have 8 Stanley Cups on his resume, he’s forgotten more about hockey than the current Leaf organization is ever likely to know. That, of course, means he’ll never get the job.
Don Cherry – The loud-mouthed Hockey Night in Canada commentator is so popular in hockey-mad Canada that his Coach’s Corner segment on Saturday nights regularly draws more viewers than the rest of the game. A large portion of the country’s population believes every mangled phrase that spews out of his mouth to be hockey gospel. On the flipside, he hates European players, has never won anything at the NHL level and has even criticized Sidney Crosby. Then again, a Cherry-led Leaf team could win a Ultimate Fighting Association title.
Bill Belichick – He could be looking for new challenges, like starting a fresh dynasty. His ego might just be big enough to think he can do it. Best of all, maybe he could convince Tom Brady to come north and quarterback the Leafs’ power play.
Jessica Alba – While she’s more of a basketball fan (the best thing to ever happen to the Golden State Warriors), if she can’t inspire the team to rise to the occasion, no one can.
Krusty the Clown – Hired to be fired, there’s method in the madness of bringing in the big schnook to run things. After Krusty's inevitable canning, at least Leaf management can declare with straight faces that his replacement will have big shoes to fill.
