The Leafs need someone who will come and won’t talk about winning Stanley Cups. They need a hockey man whose first priority will to be to restore some pride to the on-ice product and who will have the patience and vision to see through a proper rebuilding program that does not contain any short cuts.
Futa is that kind of man. So is Fenton. Both have a vast amount of knowledge of players at every level and the inner workings of the NHL. Futa was one of the main cogs in the building the Kings into a two-time Stanley Cup winner and is former Ontario League GM who is currently mentoring Rob Blake with the Kings. Fenton has worked at the foot of David Poile in Nashville, was with Anaheim prior to that and has had a remarkable record of drafting NHL talent, particularly defensemen. In case you hadn’t noticed, Nashville has had a few good ones over the past decade or so.
Neither Futa nor Fenton would bring the kind of cachet that a bigger name might attract, but that’s the last thing the Maple Leafs need right now. This is an organization that has during the salary cap era, repeatedly and consistently made the wrong assessment on players, both in the amateur and NHL ranks and that’s why they’re in the position they find themselves now. From the days of letting Steve Sullivan and Jason Smith go for nothing to signing Justin Pogge over Tuukka Rask to signing David Clarkson, the Leafs have had a mind-boggling and uncanny inability to properly evaluate talent. Two years ago, they thought the core of this team was destined for greatness on the basis of almost winning one round of the playoffs. Management then tied its future to the wrong people and the results have been disastrous.
You’d have to think Mark Hunter, who currently holds down the post of director of player personnel for the Leafs, would be another serious candidate. And even though he has virtually no NHL experience, he has built the most formidable junior program in the Canadian Hockey League with the London Knights. If he’s named GM, don’t be surprised if Hunter appoints a guy by the name of Lindsay Hofford, who runs the Pro Hockey Development group and has long ties with Hunter that go back to minor hockey and the Knights, to head up the scouting department.