Leafs, Panthers and Blues skating on the shakeup line

Scotty Bowman's thirst for power left the Maple Leafs cold, but their next GM may be modeled after Brett Hull's new role in Dallas. Dave Sandford/Getty Images

By Jim Kelley, SI.com

Is it possible that Brett Hull might save Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson, Jr.'s job?

Seems illogical, but then logic rarely is a dominant theme at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, a behemoth in terms of producing revenue, but a consistent failure in terms of on-ice success in the NHL.

The buzz for weeks has been that MLSE's board of directors has been contemplating Ferguson's dismissal, but the recent appointment of Hull as interim co-director of the Dallas Stars may have made an impact in Toronto.

The argument in favor of keeping the beleaguered Ferguson has long centered on a simple question: "Who can we get to replace him?" That question gave the board some pause this past offseason when several high profile (and under contract) GMs quietly let it be known they weren't interested in the board's plan to bring in an experienced hockey man to "mentor" Ferguson.

There was also some public debate. Legendary coach and former Buffalo Sabres GM Scott Bowman is known to have interviewed but reportedly wants the kind of all-powerful status that the board was reluctant to grant.

Former Buffalo and Ottawa GM John Muckler acknowledged an interest in the job, but made it clear that Ferguson, who is on the last year of a decidedly tentative contract extension, should get a long-term extension before he came on board. Muckler's stated purpose was to assure the nervous coaching staff and locker room that he was there to add some stability and hockey knowledge, not to undermine Ferguson and add to more uneasiness regards change.

The failure to find Ferguson's so-called "mentor" didn't dissuade some on the board from continuing the search. MSLE clings to the idea that everyone in hockey wants to be a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs, a belief that keeps these dissidents thinking that there will always be a quality hockey person ready to step in the moment they find the courage to fire Ferguson.

Hull's appointment in Dallas is said to have put a pause in that kind of thinking. The former "Mouth That Roared" his way to elite status as a player hasn't an ounce of managerial experience, but will team up with long-time assistant GM Les Jackson to run the Stars, a mediocre team with a long road ahead in terms of getting back to serious Cup contention. The thinking is that if the Hull-Jackson two-headed monster is the best that Stars owner Tom Hicks can do, then there simply aren't that many talented candidates available.

Said one source with knowledge of the Toronto situation: "They keep making inquiries, but there's no consensus as to what they want to do, and that by itself scares off a lot of people who might be interested. When you couple that to the fact that there never seems to be a commitment to winning there, it doesn't add up. People who might be interested fear that it's a can't-win career move in part because of the way they've stumbled in handling the mentor thing."

Starcrossed

Doug Armstrong probably deserved to be fired in Dallas just because his rebuild-on-the-fly program has met with little success. That and the fact that he's shipped off some talented players for draft picks that haven't panned out and made some signings that haven't aided an already too-weak offense.

In his defense, it should be noted that the Stars averaged 106 points during his five-season tenure and never missed the playoffs. Still, draft picks have become the currency of choice in the NHL since the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed. When you combine that with a mediocre performance on the ice, an owner who sees himself as in the shadow of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and who lends his ear regularly to Hull in the owner's suite and on the golf course and, well, Hull's ascension was pretty much a given.

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