Post by CL on May 10, 2003 7:03:37 GMT -5
Disaster is pending for the Toronto Maple Leafs. If this year's first round exit from the playoffs after five years of Pat Quinn's fine tuning is not enough to cause Leaf fans to riot, perhaps the ruination of this once proud franchise is inevitable. But make no mistake about it, this ship is headed for the rocks and only a fool would not have seen it coming. Quinn, in his time, has manouvered the Leafs from one problem to another with an apparently insatiable appetite for turmoil and trouble. If it is not any number of players, it is the scouting staff or long time management types and now even the president of the team who pay the ultimate price. And each one of these ceremonial sacrifices has happened at a time when Pat Quinn should have been made to answer for an inadequacy in his stewardship.
Jason Smith, a veteran hardrock defenceman that Quinn said he could not find a place for in the defensive rotation, questions the sanity behind Rick Ley's system and within weeks he is dispatched to the Oilers where he promptly becomes their captain. Steve Sullivan complains about Pat Quinn's abuse of youngsters and he is placed on waivers in less than a month. Sullivan goes on to become a perenial twenty to thirty goal scorer and Leaf fans were left with Dmitri Khristisch and yet another disaster in the offing. There are many others from Gerald Diduck to Petr Svoboda to Bob Wren to Bobby House to Shane Corson with their own stories. The one common thread is that their departures were marked with both confusion and displeasure.
At the time Pat Quinn became the defacto general manager of the Leafs following Mike Smith's sudden and acrimonious exit, the organization suddenly had no worthy prospects in development and no draft picks worthy of signing. Despite the interesting spectre of Nik Antropov on the horizon, Quinn puts the blame squarely upon the existing scouting staff and fires three of them. It is interesting to note that right at the time Quinn's new scouts would be held up to scrutiny, their prize prospect is dealt off to San Jose in the Owen Nolan trade. And while Brad Boyes has had some interesting numbers in both junior and in one year in the minors, many observers are wondering whether this kid has the wheels to make it in the NHL. Perhaps it is just coincidence but once again, Pat Quinn eludes the need to have to respond to a situation of his own authorship.
If rumours are correct, Bill Watters and Ken Dryden will soon be off doing other things with their lives. Watters will be let go outright but Dryden will be offered a token role in the organization that would make a proud man resign in disgust. Now neither of these men represent a great loss but their removal is apparently the only offering of blood the fans will get in response for the debacle on ice this season. It would appear rather strange that a contract point man and a somewhat befuddled and out of the way executive are being made the scapegoats for what was clearly total incompetence amongst the management and coaching staff of this team. At a time when the Leafs need to renegotiate several contracts and attempt to lure at least a couple of free agents to Toronto, the club dismisses the very man who had been quite successful in this regard over the last twelve years. Is this responsibilty now to fall to Pat Quinn alone? Was it not Quinn who personally pursued two free agents last year only to see both spurn his inducements to sign with the Rangers? Was it not Quinn who failed to do due diligence in the Bryan Berard situation that resulted in the young defenceman's free agent status? Was it not Quinn who couldn't even ensure a correct lineup sheet in a playoff game? Did he not make the same mistake again in a regular season game this year?
It would seem that this reluctance to face scrutiny is now becoming a common thread within the Maple Leafs hierarchy. Larry Tenenbaum says he can and will do nothing until he assumes control of MLSE on the first of July. Richard Peddie says that no decisions have been made and that everything is still under review and yet Pat Quinn, a man who should defintely be under review, is permitted to re-sign Rick Ley and Mike Penny well in advance of the magical day in July. Some would argue that this delaying tactic is merely a good business strategy. The hope is that time will diminish the anger amongst the faithful and that the potentially damaging questions of one day will become the forgotten complaints of the next. Now this might well be effective in some instances but with the Leafs one day of silence from the top seems to bring one more embarrassment from the bottom.
Pat Quinn has enjoyed a long and lucrative career in the NHL and yet over all this time, he has never won a Stanley Cup. He has a winning record as a coach and yet how many times have his teams finished first overall? Is there any accolade or accomplishment other than having more wins than losses that can mark this man's tenure as meaningful? As a general manager, how many moves has Pat Quinn made that stand out as being memorable? In his time in Toronto, do Leaf fans have an easier time recollecting the troubles in Quinn's leadership over the successes? A certain amount of dissension and turmoil may play a part in the course of every organization but under Quinn, Leaf fans have never seen so many problems occur so often. The media and the fans may have a role in expanding these difficulties but they definitely did not create them. When all of these issues are examined, the one common denominator that appears in every instance is Pat Quinn.
Jason Smith, a veteran hardrock defenceman that Quinn said he could not find a place for in the defensive rotation, questions the sanity behind Rick Ley's system and within weeks he is dispatched to the Oilers where he promptly becomes their captain. Steve Sullivan complains about Pat Quinn's abuse of youngsters and he is placed on waivers in less than a month. Sullivan goes on to become a perenial twenty to thirty goal scorer and Leaf fans were left with Dmitri Khristisch and yet another disaster in the offing. There are many others from Gerald Diduck to Petr Svoboda to Bob Wren to Bobby House to Shane Corson with their own stories. The one common thread is that their departures were marked with both confusion and displeasure.
At the time Pat Quinn became the defacto general manager of the Leafs following Mike Smith's sudden and acrimonious exit, the organization suddenly had no worthy prospects in development and no draft picks worthy of signing. Despite the interesting spectre of Nik Antropov on the horizon, Quinn puts the blame squarely upon the existing scouting staff and fires three of them. It is interesting to note that right at the time Quinn's new scouts would be held up to scrutiny, their prize prospect is dealt off to San Jose in the Owen Nolan trade. And while Brad Boyes has had some interesting numbers in both junior and in one year in the minors, many observers are wondering whether this kid has the wheels to make it in the NHL. Perhaps it is just coincidence but once again, Pat Quinn eludes the need to have to respond to a situation of his own authorship.
If rumours are correct, Bill Watters and Ken Dryden will soon be off doing other things with their lives. Watters will be let go outright but Dryden will be offered a token role in the organization that would make a proud man resign in disgust. Now neither of these men represent a great loss but their removal is apparently the only offering of blood the fans will get in response for the debacle on ice this season. It would appear rather strange that a contract point man and a somewhat befuddled and out of the way executive are being made the scapegoats for what was clearly total incompetence amongst the management and coaching staff of this team. At a time when the Leafs need to renegotiate several contracts and attempt to lure at least a couple of free agents to Toronto, the club dismisses the very man who had been quite successful in this regard over the last twelve years. Is this responsibilty now to fall to Pat Quinn alone? Was it not Quinn who personally pursued two free agents last year only to see both spurn his inducements to sign with the Rangers? Was it not Quinn who failed to do due diligence in the Bryan Berard situation that resulted in the young defenceman's free agent status? Was it not Quinn who couldn't even ensure a correct lineup sheet in a playoff game? Did he not make the same mistake again in a regular season game this year?
It would seem that this reluctance to face scrutiny is now becoming a common thread within the Maple Leafs hierarchy. Larry Tenenbaum says he can and will do nothing until he assumes control of MLSE on the first of July. Richard Peddie says that no decisions have been made and that everything is still under review and yet Pat Quinn, a man who should defintely be under review, is permitted to re-sign Rick Ley and Mike Penny well in advance of the magical day in July. Some would argue that this delaying tactic is merely a good business strategy. The hope is that time will diminish the anger amongst the faithful and that the potentially damaging questions of one day will become the forgotten complaints of the next. Now this might well be effective in some instances but with the Leafs one day of silence from the top seems to bring one more embarrassment from the bottom.
Pat Quinn has enjoyed a long and lucrative career in the NHL and yet over all this time, he has never won a Stanley Cup. He has a winning record as a coach and yet how many times have his teams finished first overall? Is there any accolade or accomplishment other than having more wins than losses that can mark this man's tenure as meaningful? As a general manager, how many moves has Pat Quinn made that stand out as being memorable? In his time in Toronto, do Leaf fans have an easier time recollecting the troubles in Quinn's leadership over the successes? A certain amount of dissension and turmoil may play a part in the course of every organization but under Quinn, Leaf fans have never seen so many problems occur so often. The media and the fans may have a role in expanding these difficulties but they definitely did not create them. When all of these issues are examined, the one common denominator that appears in every instance is Pat Quinn.
