If you were to exclusively use media reports (TSN, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun) and bloggers to determine the progress of the Maple Leaf Executive Search, this is what appears to have happened to date.
Richard Peddie and Gord Kirke began a search for a President/GM in early February. They put Brian Burke on the top of their list but could not contact him until his team was eliminated from the playoffs. The Leafs were ultimately rejected by Burke and approached San Jose regarding Doug Wilson and were again rejected. They may have approached Detroit about Ken Holland depending on which paper you read even though the Wings are still playing hockey but were not given permission to speak to him either.
At that point the Leafs ran out of possibilities and decided to take another run at Brian Burke through his buddy Dave Nonis who had just been fired by the Canucks. The Leafs weren’t really interested in Nonis but felt they could lure Burke next year by having Nonis cover the job for him until Burke completed his contract with Anaheim. Other reporters came up with an alternate theory where the presence of Nonis in the Leaf executive suite would be so compelling that Burke would get out of his contact this summer and immediately join the Leafs. Meanwhile the NHL would look the other way and ignore any possible tampering.
So much speculation, but very little reality. What is impressive is that there have been very few leaks coming out of MLSE. Normally the Leafs spring more leaks than the S.S. Minnow. So without any information from MLSE leakers, friends of candidates, the guy who washes Larry Tennenbaum’s car, etc, reporters are coming up with some wild scenarios. The only interview that has come out in the open has been Dave Nonis so some are giving us the impression that in over 3 months only one person has been seen.
The reality is that a long list have candidates was put together and Peddie/Kirke have met with quite a number of people. Once the search team has met with all those who might be interested in the Leaf job, I would expect they will put together a short list of serious candidates. A serious candidate would be someone who has the background and experience sought by the Leafs and has shown a genuine interest in the job. A second round of interviews would be conducted where discussions would focus on each candidate would rebuild the organization from the bottom up. This seems to fit into the time frame mentioned by Cliff Fletcher last week when Paul Maurice was let go. That would have the new GM in place around the time of the NHL Entry Draft and the start of the free agent signing period.
In the interim, foolish reporters will have you think that Gord Kirke, one of the most powerful figures in hockey, has no clue what he is doing. So Leaf Nation, sit back and be patient. Good news is on the way.
Richard Peddie and Gord Kirke began a search for a President/GM in early February. They put Brian Burke on the top of their list but could not contact him until his team was eliminated from the playoffs. The Leafs were ultimately rejected by Burke and approached San Jose regarding Doug Wilson and were again rejected. They may have approached Detroit about Ken Holland depending on which paper you read even though the Wings are still playing hockey but were not given permission to speak to him either.
At that point the Leafs ran out of possibilities and decided to take another run at Brian Burke through his buddy Dave Nonis who had just been fired by the Canucks. The Leafs weren’t really interested in Nonis but felt they could lure Burke next year by having Nonis cover the job for him until Burke completed his contract with Anaheim. Other reporters came up with an alternate theory where the presence of Nonis in the Leaf executive suite would be so compelling that Burke would get out of his contact this summer and immediately join the Leafs. Meanwhile the NHL would look the other way and ignore any possible tampering.
So much speculation, but very little reality. What is impressive is that there have been very few leaks coming out of MLSE. Normally the Leafs spring more leaks than the S.S. Minnow. So without any information from MLSE leakers, friends of candidates, the guy who washes Larry Tennenbaum’s car, etc, reporters are coming up with some wild scenarios. The only interview that has come out in the open has been Dave Nonis so some are giving us the impression that in over 3 months only one person has been seen.
The reality is that a long list have candidates was put together and Peddie/Kirke have met with quite a number of people. Once the search team has met with all those who might be interested in the Leaf job, I would expect they will put together a short list of serious candidates. A serious candidate would be someone who has the background and experience sought by the Leafs and has shown a genuine interest in the job. A second round of interviews would be conducted where discussions would focus on each candidate would rebuild the organization from the bottom up. This seems to fit into the time frame mentioned by Cliff Fletcher last week when Paul Maurice was let go. That would have the new GM in place around the time of the NHL Entry Draft and the start of the free agent signing period.
In the interim, foolish reporters will have you think that Gord Kirke, one of the most powerful figures in hockey, has no clue what he is doing. So Leaf Nation, sit back and be patient. Good news is on the way.
