The Need for Sportsmen in Hockey

[teppy1954]

Gentlemen: As the long summer drought continues, and we are able to wax philosophical, let me throw this bit of wisdom out for your consideration. The NHL and specifically the Maple Leafs are in need of a sportsman as owner of each club. We have seen the devastation wrought on the hockey universe's star by a corporate mentality such as that which be-devils our beloved Leafs. Would this team be a perennial loser if we had a Steve Stavro type or a Mark Cuban? I think not.

Time and time again, Gary Bettman has been more inclined to peddle teams to boards of directors rather than a Jim Balsille type. Why do you ask? Because boards of directors are less inclined to make the sportsman's moves and more inclined to watch the bottom line. Winning, in other words is a corollary benefit but not the objective. Money is the objective. That being said, Gary Bettman is more able to manipulate a board rather than a loose cannon. Originally when Jim Balsillie was going after Pittsburgh, Bettman Lauded him as the second coming. When Balsillie did as any sportsman is want to do, bending the rules in order to win, he was aghast, and wouldn't allow him to buy the Nashville franchise. (I believe, Gary Bettman will get his comeuppance later on this year when several clubs which have traditionally lost money over the past several years will come running to Jim Balsillie with the "For Sale" sign up on their front lawns. Bettman may not have the ability to dam the river, and a team will then be moved to Hamilton or Kitchener/Waterloo)

What needs to happen, is now that the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund has successfully purchased Bell Canada, it is my sincere hope that they shed some assets and an owner such as Balsillie is found to purchase the club. Then, watch out: the Leafs will become the contender that they always should have been.

So come on, let's hear everyone else's opinion- I've had my rant.

[3milelake]

Nice rant Teppy! I concur with you to some extent. The NHL needs an owner like Balsillie. I see a definite corelation to winning & bottom line, corporate clubs. Look no further than this years final 4, or the last 3 Cup winners....single owners is a constant.

Would the Leafs be better off with a single owner? Most definetely. Is their a single owner in Canada with deep enough pockets to purchase MLSE in it's entirety? Debatable. Balsillie is not that rich, nor Melnyk. Maybe the Thompson family. That's the problem with MLSE, its too damn big for a single owner.

I've been hoping the Teachers' think about getting out, or at least cutting in half their interest, given their recent & potentially very expensive purchase. Of the current bunch, Larry T is likely the one we'd want getting more control....he displays the sportman's/ego interest you speak of. The board needs to stick to business matters. In the current state our best hope is that the board hires a hockey President with full autonomy & powers like those bestowed on Colangelo. If you believe Steve Simmons, Scott Bowman turned down that job because he wouldn't have full power. Nothing will change until the board stop acting like children.

This team will never succeed as long as a businessman with absolutely NO sports sense (Richard Peddie) is so close to the top.

[teppy1954]

Update:
As I read this post from two years ago, I was struck by how far we have come in the last 12 months. Sure, we did not make the playoffs for another year and have set a franchise record in doing so. However, the hiring of a true sportsman in Brian Burke as President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs has begun to pay dividends in my opinion.

There is something in the air. I believe it is hope for the first time this century. The regime change has effectively brought to the forefront everything that has been said on these boards and the former site(s) for the past several years. We are now effectively drafting. We are not squandering draft choices in favour of beaten - up, broken down, high priced veterans. No more Owen Nolans, Andrew Raycrofts, etc. No more mortgaging of the future. No more team members having tributes at the ACC because of their off-ice friendships with executives.

It appears we are now down to the business of playing hockey and competing. We may not yet get to the promised land as they have this year in Pittsburgh, but it feels like we are at least on the long road.