leaffan's Journal

Here's the article. I quite frankly don't really see the vision or guts in dumping Huet for nothing, but the rest of it is bang on.

The Toronto Star

(2008-02-27)

Sports

Leafs need version of Gainey

Whatever he does, wherever he goes, Bob Gainey leaves traces of unmistakeable hockey greatness.

It's thus worth remembering that twice - once in 1997, once in 2002 - the Maple Leafs under president Ken Dryden came oh-so-close to landing Gainey to run
the team's hockey office.

The first time, when the Leafs were set to sacrifice defenceman Mathieu Schneider to buy Gainey from Dallas, Gainey said no.

The second time, Gainey may have backed out, but it was because Pat Quinn was blocking his way.

Yesterday, Gainey showed his greatness again, and in so doing demonstrated what the Leafs missed out on and what they desperately now need.

The Montreal Canadiens GM made the surprise deal of trade-deadline day, peddling No. 1 goalie Cristobal Huet to Washington for a second-round draft pick.

Given that the Canadiens are a contender for the Eastern Conference crown, and given that Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak are an untested goaltending tandem,
this was a very risky move.

It may backfire terribly. But the greatness of Gainey was in making the tough choice, not taking the easy way out and keeping Huet around for comfy insurance.

He made a hard choice, a difficult, controversial one in a market where the hockey team is scrutinized more closely and harshly than anywhere else in the
world.

It's called experienced leadership, and while many will question the decision, few will question the guts involved, or the vision and raw sense of direction.

From a Toronto perspective, it was particularly meaningful on a day when, as expected, interim GM Cliff Fletcher wasn't able to accomplish very much in
terms of advancing the team's rebuilding plans.

"I did not think we could do more," said a defeated Fletcher afterwards.

This is a Leaf team with five veterans who were all but begged to waive their no-trade clauses to make way for the future, but refused, as clear a case
of the tail wagging the dog as can be imagined. One, Pavel Kubina, actually agreed to a move on Monday night, then changed his mind after scoring a goal
in a Leaf victory.

Meanwhile, the coach, Paul Maurice, is playing the heck out of goalie Vesa Toskala in a bid to win as many games as possible, exactly what the team doesn't
need at the moment. A veteran player, Chad Kilger, departed amidst murky rumours involving his personal life, while Fletcher promised bold changes in the
future after being unable to make them happen now.

If there's a direction here, it's hard to say what it is. If there's leadership, it has many faces and different motivations.

So on an eventful day when there were 25 trades, including major acquisitions by Dallas, San Jose and Pittsburgh, the image of Gainey's determined jaw setting
the course of Les Habitants was so starkly in contrast with the dysfunctional Leafs that it could not be missed.

You can argue whether Brad Richards will make the biggest impact, sliding in behind Mike Ribeiro with the Stars, or how quickly Brian Campbell will adapt
to the Sharks or whether the Penguins gave up too much for Marian Hossa. One of those teams might win the Stanley Cup, or none might, and so the value
of those deals will be unveiled over time.

But the sense that the floundering Leafs must go out and not only find their Gainey, but give that man the power to truly lead, was palpable.

For too long, the Leafs have consistently put off making the difficult choices that teams fixated on championships must make. Instead of letting Ed Belfour
go several years ago, they signed him to a new deal. Instead of waving goodbye to Bryan McCabe, a player they knew was overrated, they caved in to his
demands. Instead of calling it a day on the Quinn regime, they allowed him to coach one more unsuccessful season.

Instead of dumping GM John Ferguson last summer when it was clear ownership had no faith in him, they let JFJ navigate the team for another half-season.
Instead of realizing in November that their team was seriously flawed, they continued the charade of trying to qualify for post-season play.

In recent days, Fletcher was unable to forcefully persuade any of the No- Trade Five that they should exit the Toronto stage gracefully, and now the team
has been set back, oh, at least a year in the project to become competitive again.

Fletcher spoke yesterday of the June entry draft and the free-agent season, but nobody knows if he'll still be running the Leaf operation then, or who else
might be.

Sadly, it seems unlikely the Leafs possess even the first clue about how to now find their own version of Gainey after twice missing out on the man himself.

Damien Cox

- End of Article -

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