About Time

So the Leafs finally shitcanned John Ferguson yesterday. Done, finished, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out. Cliff Fletcher is back in charge for the rest of the season. The coach gets to stay too.

The change is good. Ferguson had to go, and Fletcher works in an interim basis. It's kind of funny how he's being seen as some saviour for the franchise in this, his second go-around with the club. When Fletch was here in the 90's, he started off with a bang. Somehow he took an absolutely HORRIBLE team and turned it into a contender with a great coach, solid defense, a scrappy, talented front line, and both a hall-of-fame goalie and a rookie star in net. He wasn't afraid to make the big trade. Wendel Clark for Mats Sundin paid dividends. Gilmour for 3 talented young guys who were misused by Pat Quinn in later years. "Trader Cliff" is an apt nickname.

But he ranks pretty low in terms of win % for a GM in Leafs history. In fact, in terms of overall team performance, he ranks low in just about every category. By the time '97 rolled around, the city was ready to see him go. So the next few months as GM, and another year as consultant is just fine. He's here to run a fire sale and to try and convince Sundin that he can be traded and re-signed after the season is over. Whether or not he can pulls this off is anyone's guess. The rest of the GMs know his mandate, and will try and take advantage of it.

So welcome back Cliff, I'm looking forward to seeing what you do. Here's hoping they can find the right guy in the off-season to help bring this team back around.