An Interview With Joe Bowen, Maple Leafs Play-By-Play Man

Joe: Well, a number of years ago I said I thought Matt Stajan would eventually end up in the mix to be the next captain.  He's been with this team for a long time, and under the circumstances he is a very responsible man.  He is their NHLPA player rep, and I really wouldn't be surprised that if Mats doesn't come back, that the captain C would go to Matt Stajan. 

Now having said that; if Mats hasn't come back by the time training camp has started, the Maple Leafs may hold out hope that he will join them mid-season, so maybe they will go with three A's until then, but I would not be surprised at all if Matt Stajan ended up with a C on his jersey sometime here in Toronto.

Derek:  You have been around for both of Cliff Fletcher's eras in Toronto.  Do you see any similarities from his first term with the Maple Leafs to his current time here?

Joe:  Yeah his hair is still Grey (laughs).  It's a different league now and it's a different situation.  When Cliff arrived here the first time there was no cap, and you could do a lot of things very quickly.  The one thing about Cliff Fletcher is he has a tremendous hockey mind and the thing I am very pleased about is that he is hiring a very key group of personnel to assist him right now.  Just looking at the signing of Joe Nieuwendyk, which is a huge, huge step in the right direction as far as the Maple Leafs are concerned.  Nieuwendyk is going to be a general manager in this league in the not too distant future and it may even be in Toronto as Cliff's replacement.

Add to that Al Coates, who is another experienced hockey mind who has been in this league a long time.  You really do need the people that will play the devils advocate and say 'no I don't think this guy is a good character guy for our team' and speak up about other organizations and other players, and that is something that any successful organization has, a wealth of hockey minds that can be pried open by the GM and get contributions from.

I don't think you have to look much further than the press box in Detroit as the Red Wings were about to win the Stanley Cup.  Guys like Steve Yzerman, and Scotty Bowman, and the others who are sitting there along with the existing staff that is going to provide them with an awful lot of input of things that go on in the hockey world.  It's not something you can see on the ice, but I think in the Maple Leafs future this is going to be something very big for them.

Derek: Switching gears just a little bit to focus more on you, who or what inspired you to get involved in sports and eventually the world of sports broadcasting?

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