After the firing of Paul Maurice on Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs began what was the long awaited rebuilding process expected to take place this summer. The timing of this move however, came as a surprise to many.
Sure, Paul Maurice's future was in limbo, but no decision on it was expected until a new GM was put in place. Likewise, this move has sparked a number of rumours throughout the hockey world.
The media has begun to speculate that either the Leafs have in fact found a new GM, or that Cliff Fletcher will be holding onto those keys for one more season. If the latter is the case, Leafs fans should expect another season of hell in the fall, but let's not sound the alarm just yet.
Let's play pretend for a couple minutes. Let's pretend that the firing of Paul Maurice means that the Leafs have in fact found a new GM. This means that he is waiting in the wings somewhere in the now dark and gloomy Air Canada Centre, but will soon be revealed. That then begs the question, who is he? Or who should he be?
Ever since Brian Burke bowed out of the sweepstakes, the list has generally been Ken Holland of the Detroit Red Wings, Jim Rutherford of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Doug Wilson of the San Jose Sharks. Some have even dropped names like Lou Lamoriello of the New Jersey Devils and Colin Campbell, the NHL’s Senior Vice-President and Director of Hockey.
DISCLAIMER
1. If the leafs hire Lou Lamoriello, stop reading this article now and don't worry about the future, the Leafs are in good hands.
2. If the leafs hire Colin Campbell and you are a Leafs fan, find the nearest bridge, and jump off of it.
3. If they hire any of usual suspects first listed, starting with Ken Holland, look forward to another couple of years of mediocrity, with a playoff run, in maybe, 2009-10 and one in 2010-11. These playoff runs will end in another line of great disappointments, because the Leafs will have barely reached the playoffs in the first place.
There is one name, however, that has received little mention, if any, and his name is Dave Nonis. Remember him? He used to be the General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks, until one day the organization decided to turn off the muscle known as the brain, and fire him.
This is the same guy who brought Roberto Luongo from Florida to Vancouver in exchange for a bag of hockey pucks. So, is he the answer to Leafs' GM problems? In this writer's opinion, hardly, but it's a start. Dave Nonis is not the saviour the Leafs are looking for, but instead is more like a John the Baptist, paving the way for the real saviour.
Given a contract for one year, Nonis can get the job done. At least in the sense that he can successfully lay the foundation for the future. After laying this foundation for a year, he should be given a position in upper management, and assist in bringing in the GM that will save the Toronto Maple Leafs.
That GM and saviour, of course, is Brian Burke. And remember, while Burke was GM in Vancouver, Dave Nonis was the Senior Vice-President and Director of Hockey Operations for the Canucks' franchise.
In the mean time, if Dave Nonis is the man waiting in the wings, Toronto can be assured that they are most certainly going to win the sweepstakes for the much talked about Swedish forward, Fabian Brunnstrom. After all, before Nonis' firing, Vancouver was almost guaranteed to sign Brunnstrom this offseason.
Although, Brunnstrom may not be on par with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos, one thing is certain; he would sure bring some much needed new blood and excitement to the ACC this Fall. One thing is clear, the hiring of Dave Nonis would provide the dim Leafs franchise with some much needed light for years to come, but remember, we're just playing pretend here.
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2 months ago
I personally don't want Colin Campbell as the new GM but people aren't giving him enough credit. In fact, they aren't even giving him a chance.
The high and mighty Brian Burke held the same position Campbell did before being named GM of the Canucks, and he has done quite well I would say
2 months ago
yeah, but burke had a bit more experience in the late 80's and early 90's before he held that office for the NHL.
2 months ago
Why would you sign a GM to a one-year contract? What would any GM be able to accomplish in one year, and, perhaps more importantly, why would any GM sign a one-year contract, especially a young GM with a lot of years ahead of him, such as Dave Nonis? What could Nonis do in one year that Fletcher couldn't do, especially when one considers the inhibiting effects of the various no-trade clauses/no-movement clauses, meager talent stock (both on the farm and with the big club), and the exorbitant salaries of players such as Jason Blake.
Signing Nonis for one year then getting rid of him would, quite obviously, do little to benefit the stability of the Maple Leafs organization; imagine the state of the TML front office two years down the road after going from JFJ to Fletcher to Nonis to another GM in the space of 2 and a 1/2 years.
If they hire Nonis, which might be a good idea, they have to do so for more than one year. That being said, it must be remembered that the only thing Nonis has to his credit is that he got Luongo, who may or may not be demanding a trade within the next couple of months. Moreover, he got Luongo from Keenan, who, as evidenced by his leaving Florida soon after making the trade, did not likely have the best interests of the Panthers in mind (especially when one considers the rumors that surround his departure from the organization).
Also, while Nonis may be the most realistic option, really, when one considers that the Luongo deal is his only real claim to fame, what makes him better than anyone else on your list? Holland and Rutherford have won Stanley Cups, and Wilson has assembled arguably the most talented team in the Western Conference outside of Detroit.
2 months ago
I didn't say get rid of Nonis after one year, that would be a crappy deal. I said sign him to a one year deal under GM, and then promote him to Director of Operations and or Vice President. Although, that plan is completely reliant on Brian Burke signing with the leafs in 2009, and if he doesn't, I say extend Nonis' contract.
As far as Nonis' record is concerned, his drafting record is impeccable and speaks for itself. Also, as Derek (who responded above) pointed out in his article, during the trade deadline this year he decided not to take the risk on rental players in favour of keeping his prospects. And let's keep in mind Vancouver's farm is a lot better looking than the Leafs.
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