Post by TOMGUNNER on Jul 7, 2003 12:00:22 GMT -5
While other teams such as Colorado and Detroit get/got their players, the Leafs waste time, think, worry and "dick" around for weeks. WHY have Detroit & Colorado won Cups in recent years? Yup, they take chances and don't sit on their a$$es all day. I'm sure the Leafs know WHO they want....then get them already. We'll have approx. the 3rd highest payroll. By the time they've decided on Svehla, DeVried, Wesley, trades, Marchment etc etc...those guys will be buying their new homes in their new city's......NOT in T.O. though. Can't Quinn take his vacation in 1 month? Why now, at the most important time of the off-season 
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Leafs sticking to their vision
By MIKE ZEISBERGER -- Toronto Sun
As big-ticket free agents were snapped up at a suddenly quick rate yesterday, Larry Tanenbaum listened with interest.
Yes, Tanenbaum was aware of the howls of outrage as fans unloaded to various media outlets about the Maple Leafs' failure to land any of the big names -- Derian Hatcher, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne -- who signed contracts with new clubs.
"I understand their frustration," said Tanenbaum, who took over as chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. earlier this week and yesterday spent his first day at the office.
"(But) we are committed to this championship vision. That happens by having skilled people trading, drafting and addressing free agency. We feel we have the people to do that in (coach) Pat (Quinn) and (Leafs assistant general manager) Mike Penny."
The championship vision, which Quinn stressed again this week, includes going with youth, in all likelihood. There are plenty of current NHL free agents, mostly defencemen, in whom the Leafs have interest. That group includes Oleg Tverdovsky, Ken Klee, Greg de Vries and Glen Wesley.
Meanwhile, local boy Bryan Marchment reportedly would accept a one-year deal with the Leafs in order to play for his home-town team.
Whether the Leafs get around to signing any of the above is another matter. Toronto is not enamoured with the thought of hooking into long-term deals, which most players naturally want, possible work stoppage in 2004 be da*ned.
If the Leafs do land anyone soon, Quinn will put in his two cents' worth from Vancouver. He flew to his home there yesterday, but that should not be interpreted as a sign that the search for a new general manager has slowed.
MLSEL president Richard Peddie said last night that "we could use all of August" before a decision on a new GM is made, and that the club is just entering a stage now where it candidates are researched. Interviews won't be happening any time soon, Peddie said.
"It's full steam ahead for our due diligence," Peddie said.
Tanenbaum shot down the idea that initiating a hunt for a new general manager was his orchestration alone.
"It's a decision that was made by total unanimity," Tanenbaum said. "From Pat to the board of directors, everyone was in agreement."
One candidate the Leafs potentially might consider is Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations.
"(The hunger) is always there," said Campbell, who has yet to be contacted about the post. "Having this job the past five years has been a great experience. When is the right time to go back to the other side of the game? It would have to have the right feel and be the right situation."
Penny, himself a candidate for the GM job, is in Hilton Head, S.C., this weekend for American Hockey League meetings.
Penny expected the next few days to be quiet from the Leafs' perspective. "That can change in a hurry, and we are looking at all kinds of different things, but until I see a name in ink on a contract ..." he said. "Term is an issue, and you don't want to get into no-trade deals."
Will the Detroit Red Wings' signing of Hatcher lead to more defencemen finding new homes?
"There's a whole whack of other guys now who don't have much (separating) them," Penny said. "I get the feeling agents are a bit leery. No one wants to set the bar a little too low."
======================================
Leafs sticking to their vision
By MIKE ZEISBERGER -- Toronto Sun
As big-ticket free agents were snapped up at a suddenly quick rate yesterday, Larry Tanenbaum listened with interest.
Yes, Tanenbaum was aware of the howls of outrage as fans unloaded to various media outlets about the Maple Leafs' failure to land any of the big names -- Derian Hatcher, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne -- who signed contracts with new clubs.
"I understand their frustration," said Tanenbaum, who took over as chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. earlier this week and yesterday spent his first day at the office.
"(But) we are committed to this championship vision. That happens by having skilled people trading, drafting and addressing free agency. We feel we have the people to do that in (coach) Pat (Quinn) and (Leafs assistant general manager) Mike Penny."
The championship vision, which Quinn stressed again this week, includes going with youth, in all likelihood. There are plenty of current NHL free agents, mostly defencemen, in whom the Leafs have interest. That group includes Oleg Tverdovsky, Ken Klee, Greg de Vries and Glen Wesley.
Meanwhile, local boy Bryan Marchment reportedly would accept a one-year deal with the Leafs in order to play for his home-town team.
Whether the Leafs get around to signing any of the above is another matter. Toronto is not enamoured with the thought of hooking into long-term deals, which most players naturally want, possible work stoppage in 2004 be da*ned.
If the Leafs do land anyone soon, Quinn will put in his two cents' worth from Vancouver. He flew to his home there yesterday, but that should not be interpreted as a sign that the search for a new general manager has slowed.
MLSEL president Richard Peddie said last night that "we could use all of August" before a decision on a new GM is made, and that the club is just entering a stage now where it candidates are researched. Interviews won't be happening any time soon, Peddie said.
"It's full steam ahead for our due diligence," Peddie said.
Tanenbaum shot down the idea that initiating a hunt for a new general manager was his orchestration alone.
"It's a decision that was made by total unanimity," Tanenbaum said. "From Pat to the board of directors, everyone was in agreement."
One candidate the Leafs potentially might consider is Colin Campbell, the NHL's director of hockey operations.
"(The hunger) is always there," said Campbell, who has yet to be contacted about the post. "Having this job the past five years has been a great experience. When is the right time to go back to the other side of the game? It would have to have the right feel and be the right situation."
Penny, himself a candidate for the GM job, is in Hilton Head, S.C., this weekend for American Hockey League meetings.
Penny expected the next few days to be quiet from the Leafs' perspective. "That can change in a hurry, and we are looking at all kinds of different things, but until I see a name in ink on a contract ..." he said. "Term is an issue, and you don't want to get into no-trade deals."
Will the Detroit Red Wings' signing of Hatcher lead to more defencemen finding new homes?
"There's a whole whack of other guys now who don't have much (separating) them," Penny said. "I get the feeling agents are a bit leery. No one wants to set the bar a little too low."
;D 