Hockey Trade Rumors

Richard Peddie has yet to become the villain that JFJ is but I can see it going that way soon. To me Richard Peddie has become the latest version of Harold Ballard. Maybe not to the extent of Ballard but he has done little to help this team.

First off look what he did to the Raptors by appointing HIS man to the post of GM of that team. Rob Bab***** was hands down the worst GM in Raptors short history. Peddie allowed the Raptors to become the joke of the NBA. Also proving he knows nothing on how to run a basketball team.

Second he appoints JFJ as GM of the Leafs. JFJ has done absolutely nothing for this team but burden the Leafs with foolish contracts and trade away the future for nothing that is helping the team now. In the last four years JFJ has dealt away three of the four first round picks in the Leetch, Raycroft, and Toskala deals. Also he has not made a single deal to further the franchise.

I believe that 99% of Leaf fans want this wretched GM gone. Yet Peddie leaves him in his post. So Peddie ignores Leaf fans protests and keeps JFJ in his job. I have heard some say to keep him there till the summer. WHY? The sooner change is made the better. I don’t want this clown who knows nothing about talent making the deals that will turn this franchise around at the trade deadline. We have one chance to trade our two most valued players in Kaberle and Sundin. Why would you want JFJ to make these deals when it is painfully obvious he can not make deals?

People say that there is no qualified GM available. Are you kidding me? Have you ever heard the expression … money talks? Are you telling me that if MLSE offered Carolina a bucket of cash for their GM Rutherford(rumor has Francis moving into that post for Rutherford) that they would not bite? You are fooling yourself in that thinking. I have heard from papers in Carolina and media in Toronto (also TSN) that Rutherford would love to have the chance to turn the Leafs around. That is one example. There are many people who are available also that are qualified GM material. Neil Smith, Muckler, and Taylor. Not to mention some assistant GM’s from around the NHL. Steve Tambellini and Jim Nill come to mind. Not to mention some great players like Messier would love the chance. Lets face it none of them could be worse then Fergie.

Peddie has let this team become the joke that the Raptors were to the NBA. He has even admitted it in the media that he made a mistake in JFJ. Then why not correct his self admitted mistake and have JFJ removed as GM. He said he is waiting and wants to see what JFJ can do to right the ship. Hasn’t he been given enough time to do this? His track record speaks for itself.

Larry Tanenbaum who controls the minority of the Leafs franchise wanted JFJ gone a year ago. Peddie was the one who vetoed this and left JFJ in there. Tanenbaum wanted to bring in Glenn Healy (of TSN) to run the hockey side. Peddie wanted JFJ based on the fact that he had more time in the front office. It appears that the front office experience did little to help him. Garth Snow on the island has proven that an inexperienced GM can work in the NHL as he has done a decent job and is a good judge of talent.

This team has not had a solid GM since Cliff Fletcher. People say Quinn was good. He was good at signing free agents and all that takes is money which MLSE has plenty of. Quinn was poor at drafting and often traded youth for players past their prime. Fletcher had the balls to make HUGE deals which brought in Sundin and Gilmour. Yeah he made some bad deals but you have to look at the two largest deals he made and see that he not only could pull the trigger. But he pulled it at the right time. Everyone lost their mind when he traded Clark for Sundin. Sundin is now the highest scoring Leaf in their history. The Gilmour trade single handedly turned the Leafs around.

So I say why not fire JFJ and bring in an interim GM like Cliff Fletcher or a Doug Gilmour to run the front office till the summer. Or just go after another teams GM like a Rutherford. MLSE consider themselves the center of the hockey universe and have enough political clout in the NHL to do just about whatever they want. Why not contact another team for their GM. It has been done before in this and other sports.I am sure some cash and a pick would make a team think twice about keeping their GM…particularly the cash.This trade(for a GM) might be the one this time to turn around the Leafs.

Richard Peddie has become the Leafs worst nightmare as Harold Ballard once was. He continues to thumb his nose at the fans who pay their hard earned money for tickets and the merchandise yet fans don’t point at him for the mistakes he has done. I think it is about time we did!!