Nevermind interim GM Cliff Fletcher, headhunter-for-hire Gord Kirke has the most difficult job in the post-JFJ Maple Leafs.
We now know what we've known for the better part of a week: John Ferguson would not survive as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and that Cliff Fletcher is his interim replacement.
Let me be the first to say, "So what!"
As per usual at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment this is a) Catering to the wishes of the masses; and b) Disguising the real issue by splashing a bit of perfume on what is pretty much a dead pig.
Which brings me to about the only good thing that came out of Tuesday's press conference announcing the firing of firing of Ferguson and the non-interim-interim hiring of Fletcher: MLSE reached out to someone outside the organization -- Toronto-based attorney Gordon Kirke -- to assist the company in searching for a long-term replacement for both Ferguson and Fletcher and, perhaps, team president Richard Peddie.
I say "perhaps" because lost in the events of the day was a statement that even though the new boss of the Maple Leafs will be both general manager and president. It could all be just an illusion.
For in addition to being president, Peddie is also Chief Executive Officer and there was no indication he's ready to give up on that position. Couple that with the fact that Peddie -- not Fletcher, but Peddie -- will be in the forefront of the search for Ferguson and Fletcher's replacement one has the right to ask: What's new?
It's hardly an awe inspiring moment if Peddie is kicking himself upstairs while hand picking the hire that will still be under him. Isn't that how the Leafs got into this mess in the first place?
That's where Kirke comes in. Peddie, the Board of Governors, or both felt the need to hire a person of Kirke's stature gives at least a glimmer of hope that they understand the depth of their problem.
I've had the good fortune to occasionally work with Kirke and, like Ferguson, I've come to know that he is a good man with a great deal of integrity and a true sense of ethical responsibility; and like Fletcher, he has a long and noteworthy track record as a mover and shaker. Most importantly, however, Kirke has no vested interest in the outcome of the search other than to do the best job humanly possible in regards helping find the right man to lead the Leafs back not just toward respectability, but toward establishing a business model that will not continue the trend of being a business success but a product failure.
Though certainly not worded into his contract, the fact that he's on board also means he can freely tell Peddie and company whether or not they are doing the right thing.
In truth, Kirke will function like the canary in the coal mine. If he's fired or resigns his commission, it's a safe bet that it happened because he felt the company was making the same mistakes it has so often made in the past. If he sees it through and emerges as proudly completing his duties and moving on with his life and other business interests, it will be perceived -- whether he's signed a confidentiality agreement or not -- as a tacit endorsement in regards to the company not only hiring the right man, but doing the necessary things to give that person the mantle of leadership he and the Leafs so desperately need.
No small task given that even though there are men (or women) out there who can do the job, the question remains whether or not MLSE can dedicate itself to a business platform that will allow that person to succeed.
Count me among the wary on that last point.
It's possible that Kirke convince Peddie and the people who employ him that being a model franchise in something beyond making money would be in the franchise's best interest. Still, it does not reduce the magnitude of the task. As hockey franchises go, MLSE is a monumental failure in terms of winning, connecting with its far-flung fan base in ways that make them feel a part of the franchise (something businessmen abhor, but is a necessary element of any sports business operation) and being transparent enough to level with people regards the state of the franchise now and the direction it needs to take in both the immediate and long-term future.
Fletcher addressed some of those issues in his introductory press conference Tuesday, but he didn't tell the faithful anything they didn't already know. They know the road to future success will require some more short-term pain. They know that in the "new NHL" drafting and player development is important (even for ridiculously wealthy franchises). They know that the 'Sundin issue' is the same today as it was yesterday when Ferguson was running the show and the board of directors were in the process of running Ferguson.
Meanwhile Peddie, the man who Tuesday fired the man he labeled "a mistake", said very little about the future of the franchise and next to nothing about changing the corporate mindset of MLSE. In reality, he defended it.
In Peddie's world, the board never interfered with Ferguson a statement any reasonable person would find offensive. When you make or stand behind a statement like that it's difficult to then address the core problems of MLSE in relation to the Leafs. Peddie couldn't even find it in himself to state for the record what most people who follow pro sports know to be true, that upper management does have a very real say in the decision-making process of its managerial people because that's what all well-run businesses do. If you have an asset, be it a hockey player or land-lease agreements for an oil-sands field in Alberta, you have to deal with it in business-like fashion.
The fact that Peddie felt the need to dance around such a basic concept, even going so far as to say there has never been interference regards the decision making of a general manager employed by MLSE speaks volumes regards how the folks in the ACC tower view their customers.
On a need-to-know basis, they act as if fans need to know nothing other than what they say and that is the essence of the problem there.
Is Peddie relinquishing power? On the surface it would appear he's at least delegating his authority as President, but by retaining both the CEO position and making himself the principal party regards hiring a new general manager and president it appears to be business as usual at MLSE.
Kirke needs to guard against that. Peddie threw the fans a bone in regards firing Ferguson and he tossed them an old and favored toy in filing the credibility gap with Fletcher but if there is to be true progress at MLSE regards the operation of the Maple Leafs, Kirke needs to hold sway.
He needs to be the one that not only assures the new hire that what he's getting into is a good thing and he needs to secure the necessary agreements -both in writing and in spirit-that will convince a competent candidate to accept the position.
In short, Kirke has the hardest job in sports. He has to create a culture of change inside an institution that abhors it and he has to convince a skeptical group of quality candidates that he's done it.
That's a Rubik-like challenge squared and cubed.
It's also the Leafs only chance in regards convincing any of the best hockey men in the business to think that there's really is a change coming in regards the so-called centre of the hockey universe.
Good luck Gord Kirke.
