Maple Leafs GM Dave Nonis has "managed to somehow stay relatively unscathed" through just under six years with the franchise despite the fact that he has been a key figure in the team's "demise, making critical errors that continue to cost the organization dearly," according to James Mirtle of the GLOBE & MAIL. The seven-year, $36.75M (all figures U.S.) deal "given to a one-dimensional third-line player" in RW David Clarkson in the summer of '13 "should have been a fireable offence on its own, given the ramifications it will have on the Leafs’ salary cap situation for years." The Maple Leafs have more than $54M "already on the books for 15 players next season." Mirtle: "Adding talent? Good luck." Nonis "has done a good job of preaching patience publicly since he took over" for current Flames President Brian Burke, but "if you look at some of the moves he has either made or intended to make, they’re at odds with a patient, youth-oriented approach" (GLOBE & MAIL, 11/20). But in Toronto, Bruce Arthur writes it is "not up to Nonis to steer this, or it shouldn’t be," as that responsibility belongs to Leafs President Brendan Shanahan. Hired in April, Shanahan is currently "facing the first crisis of his career" with the team just 19 games into the season. He "believes in process, and he’s the kind of emotional man who doesn’t like making emotional decisions." But he "knows what this team is." Nonis: "(We will be) as patient as we need to be. You can do a lot of damage to the long-term success of your team by overreacting" (TORONTO STAR, 11/20).
FRUSTRATED FANS? ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun wrote it "can't possibly get worse" for the Maple Leafs after "being pasted by the Predators" at home 9-2 Tuesday night. The "ugly loss fueled two more sweater tosses onto the ice by fans, the ultimate slap in the face" to players from their own supporters. But the "problem with some of the crowd at the Air Canada Centre is that they don't truly represent real Leafs supporters." A lot of those "true fans can't afford the NHL's most expensive ticket, so they stay home while the corporate suits fill up the bottom bowl." Former Leafs coach Ron Wilson said, "I was watching [Tuesday] night and at the start of the second period, all the platinums (seats) are totally empty. It looked on TV like nobody was in the building. Everybody in Toronto talks about how bad it is in Florida, but in Toronto everyone sitting in the platinums are down in the suite drinking and they're not even paying attention to the team. Hockey seems to be secondary, which is a shame." He added, "It's a morgue at the start of the game." LeBrun wrote fans "are indeed angry, and one lone playoff appearance in a decade gives them that right" (ESPN.com, 11/19).
WHO'S NEXT? MLSE Chair Larry Tanenbaum said that the "search is on for middle ground" in the pursuit of a new CEO. In Toronto, Doug Smith noted the organization has gone from former President & CEO Richard Peddie, "an accomplished boardroom talent," to outgoing President & CEO Tim Leiweke, who has a "far more gung-ho public persona." Tanenbaum: "Richard was very inward-facing with the organization; Tim Leiweke was very outward-facing for the organization. There’s a balance to be struck with the new CEO." Smith noted if Tanenbaum "has a timeline" for hiring a new CEO, he is "not sharing." All anyone "knows for certain is that the search for Leiweke's replacement is going on now" (TORONTO STAR, 11/18).
