Ferguson Fired, Fletcher Named Leafs GM
It’s official, Cliff Fletcher will be the Toronto Maple Leafs Interim General Manager and John Ferguson Jr. has been fired and is now the official scapegoat of the Maple Leafs. Technically, Ferguson will still be paid for the rest of the year but his contract will not be renewed, and according to Leafs ownership, “in the best interests of the Leafs and of John to begin the transition immediately“.
John Ferguson was the Leafs General Manager for 4+ years and never delivered the Leafs fans or ownership the championship they desired. The job of head coach still remains as Paul Maurice’s, but he appears to be on the hot seat as well.
Fletcher has already served one stint as the Maple Leafs General Manager and brought them within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings in the 7th Game of the Western Conference Finals in 93-94. This is what Maple Leafs ownership has to say about Cliff Fletcher, “As all of our general managers have had, he will have the autonomy and responsibility for all hockey decisions with a focus on establishing a foundation from which the next general manager can build. He will guide us through the upcoming trade deadline and toward the draft and free agent signing period“.
It is unknown how long Fletcher will man the General Manager’s office, but at the very least it will be through the end of the season. I do feel bas for Ferguson as he was thrown under the bus, but just like in any job, if your performance continues to slip, you will get the axe. They gave him 4 years in Toronto with no results, and this year the bottom fell out. Good luck to Fletcher as GM and Ferguson in his early off-season.
Source: tsn
on January 22nd, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Ive heard that Cliff Fletcher covets Mikko Koivu of Minnesota. Maybe now that hes in Toronto he can pull off the deal. Mats Sundin to the Wild for Mikko Koivu. Knowing Cliff it won’t be a simple player for player deal and look for him to try to get Benoit Pouliot aswell.