IN CHARGE OF LEAFS
Maple Leafs GMs
JOHN FERGUSON (2003-2008)
Became the Leafs 12th GM replacing Pat Quinn. Ferguson was born 66 days after the Leafs won their last Stanley Cup.
PAT QUINN (1999-2003)
Took
over top job while already the coach and kept the team in the league's
upper echelon but was unable to end three-decade Stanley Cup drought.
KEN DRYDEN (1997-99)
Team
president became caretaker GM when he couldn't find someone he trusted
to be GM; assistant Mike Smith did the day-to-day work.
CLIFF FLETCHER (1991-97)
Restored pride to troubled organization, trading for Doug Gilmour and building 202-200-58 record.
FLOYD SMITH (1989-91)
Chief scout minded store until recommending Fletcher's hiring.
GORD STELLICK (1988-89)
Former PR man went 28-46-6 and traded reliable scorer Russ Courtnall for doomed slugger John Kordic.
GERRY McNAMARA (1981-88)
Oversaw the franchise's darkest days, getting fired after his teams went 166-302-67.
PUNCH IMLACH (1979-81)
A legend while running the Leafs in the '60s, he was a flop the second time around.
JIM GREGORY (1969-79)
Built contending team, featuring Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald, despite working for temperamental Harold Ballard.
PUNCH IMLACH (1958-69)
Won four Stanley Cups.
HAP DAY (1957)
Former team captain in charge just long enough to compile 21-38-11 record.
CONN SMYTHE (1927-57)
Legendary team owner built Maple Leaf Gardens and won seven Stanley Cups.
Source: Star Files
Sports Reporter
John Ferguson Jr. is out, and Cliff Fletcher is in as interim general manager of the listing Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fletcher returns for his second tour of duty as GM, albeit only to set the table for a replacement in a search that starts "today," said Gord Kirke, the well-known Toronto sports lawyer brought in to work with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in finding a long-term hockey boss.
"I have no interest whatsoever in terms of putting my name in a hat to be the, hopefully, long-term GM here," said Fletcher, 72, who was GM of the Leafs from 1991 to 1997 and signed a 19-month contract in returning.
"The position is for younger people. It will my pleasure, hopefully, to turn the team over to someone who will lead the club for at least a decade and provide the success everyone in Toronto can be proud of."
Head coach Paul Maurice, whom Ferguson hired to replace Pat Quinn before the 2006-07 season, and his staff will remain with the team through the end of the season.
“You try desperately to find the positives and for me it was John’s example and leadership through difficult times. It was clearly something to see,” Maurice said.
“He was always there with support and open with his convictions and what he believed in about the hockey team. He was an absolute pleasure to work for, completely and totally.”
In the end, though, Ferguson’s failure to deliver playoff dates the past two seasons led to the long-anticipated move, with the Leafs ahead of just two teams in the 30-team National Hockey League in his fourth season as GM.
“Our objective is always to be a contending team,” board chairman Larry Tanenbaum told reporters today. “To be able to bring a Stanley Cup back here, it’s hard to do that when you don’t have playoffs.
“I believe myself and our board will take advice from the hockey expert to be able to say to us, and bring to us, (if) this is the right time to tear it (the team) down and then build it up,” said Tanenbaum.
“If that’s the case, we’ll be with him.”
Fletcher takes over at the helm of a team that has a little more than a month before the time to fish or cut bait, the Feb. 26 NHL trading deadline. His most sought-after asset is captain Mats Sundin, who could be traded for long-range prospects - if he waives his no-trade clause, part of a one-year extension he signed last season. Fletcher acquired Sundin in 1994, but the Leafs’ leading scorer was not talking about his own future today.
"As players you feel guilty, you feel disappointed with the position you’re putting everybody else in, including your general manager and coaches," said Sundin. "We’re all in the same boat. We’re all under the same pressure to win or there’ll be changes (if we don’t). It’s always disappointing when something like this happens."
As for Ferguson, he refused to blame MLSE for the move.
“Every manager deals with bosses,” said Ferguson, who was just 36 years old when he came to the Leafs in 2003 after serving as St. Louis Blues’ assistant GM. “I respect our ownership and their right to make their decisions.
“I’m proud of my record here, I’ve learned a tremendous amount,” he said. “There’s been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 11 general managers hired since I’ve been here and I am excited about my next opportunity.”
With files from Kevin McGran, Paul Hunter, Damien Cox and Rick Matsumoto