Maple Leaf Sports And Entertainment - More the Latter than the Former.

When I heard the news Saturday night that Scotty Bowman wanted to join the Maple Leafs only to be essentially told "Thanks but we can figure this out on our own" all I could really do was laugh. I mean really, how the hell else are you supposed to react to the news a team that hasn't won a Cup in 41 years turning down one of the best 3 or 4hockey minds of all-time? A guy who has won more Cups than anybody?

The problems with MLSE management run deep and have been well documented on this site before, but the biggest problem they have now is that neither Richard Peddie or Larry Tanenbaum have any clue about sports but think they do, and on top of that hate each others guts.

The second biggest problem is that as far as MLSE goes there is no problem. The Leafs are still a license to print money for them so who gives a damn if the product on the ice is any good? Management really could care less about whether the Leafs make the playoffs or not because they don't need them to. And that is made even more clear by the fact that they have let the incompetent John Ferguson Jr. run the show, at least notionally, for the past few years. They keep stating they are trying to build a team that is meant for the playoffs. Well what good is that if the team can't make the playoffs? Every day that Ferguson is still there adds to the hilarity of the situation.

The question a lot of people are asking themselves is why they would give Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo full reign over the NBA team without interference but turn down Bowman who wanted the same thing (we'll leave Toronto FC and the Marlies out of this equation because neither one of them matter in the least to MLSE). The answer to that question is quite simple. The Raptors need to be successful on the court to expand their core fan base (which is completely rabid for the team and among the top 5 fan bases in the NBA), drive ad revenue and score better TV deals. The Leafs don't need to be any good on the ice because their revenues are almost maxed out. So Bowman gets snubbed.

It's been clear for years the Leafs are a source of off ice entertainment for pretty much everyone who hates them, and quite frankly for those of us who love them. We can all cry in our beer or collectively laugh and groan and hope for better days. The best case scenario is they finish near last this year and get a top draft pick and then finish poorly again next year for a chance at John Tavares (assuming of course that Leaf brass wouldn't screw up the draft picks which is a hell of an assumption). One of the on ice problems the past few years is that the Leafs haven't been good enough to be good or bad enough to be bad so they keep just missing the playoffs and getting mid round picks. Being terrible for a few years knowing that you will rebuild and be good down the road is perfectly acceptable (just ask Penguins fans these days) and fans would accept it as a plan. But of course there is no plan because nothing is wrong in MLSE's eyes.

All of which furthers my belief that being a Leaf fan is often more like an affliction than a personal choice. The Passion That Unite Us All indeed.