Damien Cox has written a bit on his blog today, complimentary to his story in today’s Star about “chopping from the top” of Leaf’s management. The essence of the story and blog companion piece is that the Leafs need to hold everyone in management – coach, general manager and team president/C.E.O./mondo fromaggio Richard Peddie – accountable for the execrable “product” on the ice. Translation: the Leafs stink and everybody who can be fired, should be.
The blog piece boots around a list of names that Mr. Cox invites us to “ponder” as replacements for some or all of the above-described individuals. Here is the list of former players that Cox put out there:
Steve Yzerman, Ron Francis, Mark Messier, Al MacInnis, Doug Gilmour, Glenn Healy, Tom Kurvers, Steve Larmer, Kris King.
I’ll tell you what I’m “pondering”, having read that list. I’m pondering whether Damien drafted that sucker up right on the back of a cocktail napkin and if so, during which year/decade? Leaving aside for a minute the other candidates, can we talk about Tom Kurvers? Kris King? Are you kidding me? Would someone please enlighten me as to what, exactly, Tom Kurvers has done to merit consideration for any type of employment in the Maple Leaf organization (I mean aside from “program salesman”; I can see them slipping a brother that job, if he needs it. I ain’t here to hold the man down if he wants to work hard to earn some scratch, you dig?) I mean, seriously. Is it the many Norris trophies that Kurvers racked up while triumphantly patrolling the Leaf blueline lo those many years? Or is it the numerous division championships and several consecutive Stanley Cups that the Phoenix Coyotes have paraded down – uh, well some big street in Phoenix – during the time that old Tom Terrific has been working as the Director of Player Personnel for the desert dogs?
Kris King? Seriously, where the hell did that come from? That makes about as much sense as the time my wife just yelled out “Meat Lasagna!” Dude, is “Kris King” a written manifestation of some kind of Tourette’s syndrome? Come on, Damien, you can’t give a guy the job if he can’t spell “President.” Actually, having looked south of the border to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., scratch that. You can. My mistake.
Just because you can give a guy the job, however, is no reason to actually run out and do so. I would have thought that this, if nothing else, would be the lesson learned by everyone from the John Ferguson Jr era.