once when wayne gretzky, the greatest hockey player, called the new jersey devils a "mickey mouse organization", the franchise turned out to become of the most consistent and respected organization in the nhl, grabbing several stanley cups along the way.

perhaps, the toronto maple leafs are due some harsh words from the great one on the current state of affairs in the center of the hockey universe.

each day, it seems, another toronto sports columnists offers a glimpse into a structural lunacy that is our beloved leafs. a sports organization similar to a business complete with a board of governors, shareholders with no interest in the product, ceos, presidents and general managers. under these conditions, it is no wonder the current team is rapidly falling apart and no band-aid solution will work.

the rumours of cliff fletcher returning to toronto is bordering a laugh out loud approach. the current president, richard peddie, that is wooing fletcher to come back is the same man that fired him ten years ago. it is after all, what the leafs do on the ice, why not take the same approach to the front office? more importantly, his job would be a temporary tenure until MLSE settles on a permanent GM over the summer. mind you, the current GM, john ferguson jr, still has the job while it is public knowledge his boss is seeking his replacement. this does not bode will for any GM looking to take the toronto in which the team's president handcuffs the current GM from making any real decisions. if fletcher is to return, peddie should acknowledge his mistakes in this mess and step down alongside ferguson.

ferguson is not without his fair share of criticism. this is the man responsible for bad trades and long-term contracts of players that appear to be amount to nothing. one of JFJ first big moves was bring in the aging brain leetch in their playoff run few years back. in return, it cost the leafs two prospects and two picks while leech's leaf tenure lasted handful of regular season games plus another couple of playoff games. and of course, he was not the "missing piece in the puzzle" to end leafs' cupless drought.

more recently, after one decent season, JFJ handed jason blake a lengthy five-year contract that appears to be a total bust and already seeking a team to pick up the contract. his market value diminished in toronto but then again, who rushes out giving someone a five-year deal after one 40 goal season? unless he gets it going, this one is going to hurt for years to come. long after ferguson is fired, his moves will linger under the new regime with disappointments such as this one. granted, it was recently discovered blake was diagnosed with leukemia which could be the reason for his sub par performance.

however, no benign form of cancer can be responsible for the bonehead decisions behind the moves of signing bryan mccabe, andrew raycroft and even darcy tucker. raycroft, once the league's rookie of the year, came over to toronto following a disappointing second year and never really returned to his calder winning status. instead, leafs gave up a potential goalie superstar tuuka rask and year later were scrambling to sign vesa toskalo to cover jfj bad trade. raycroft's performance this year with 4.01 GAA and only two wins in fifteen games speaks loudly of ferguson's mistakes. it seems with jfj one good year equals a long-term investment worth pouring money into as was the case with bryan mccabe. coming off an exceptional year, the defenseman's contract was extended for an additional five years, at $6 million per season, with numerous clauses meaning no matter how bad mccabe's performance gets, he can't be moved anywhere, including the marlies.

the blame is to go all around and with the leafs hovering just a couple of points out of the league's 30th spot, heads will roll. the team's win last night is a short term reprieve from the inevitability. the smart thing to do now is write the season off and start dumping some of the baggage. players like sundin, tucker, hal gill could become important pieces to any team that has a legitimate shot at the cup. if anyone deserves a run with a true contender it is mats sundin and the idea of trading him as a rental has never seemed more logical. he's having a terrific year, up top among league scorers and certainly hoisting the cup in toronto is not in the picture for years to come.


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