"Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed" By Al Strachan

[jmart21]

Why The Leafs Suck And How They Can Be Fixed By Al Strachan

by Al Strachan. Anyone ever read this book?


I know the guy is a knob. I got the book for X-mas about 2 years ago and never read it untill Februrary.

I wasn't expecting much out of it (hence not even opening the cover for 2 years). But I have to say there was some pretty good points raised:

-The Ballard years (he was even worse than i thought!)
-The story of how CuJo became a leaf
-The effects of your coach/GM being the same person
-The lack of respect players had for Quinn and rest of coaching staff
-The JFJ era (very eye-opening)
-Why the "just blow it up and start over" approach doesn't always work.

These are some of the things that stand out in my mind.

Anyone else read it? Comments?

Click to read more...

 

[Mansfield]

Kinda difficult for those of us who haven't read the book to say anything about it when you're basically just listing his ideas..

 

[Man Hole Inspector*]

by Al Strachan. Anyone ever read this book?


I know the guy is a knob. I got the book for X-mas about 2 years ago and never read it untill Februrary.

I wasn't expecting much out of it (hence not even opening the cover for 2 years). But I have to say there was some pretty good points raised:

-The Ballard years (he was even worse than i thought!)
-The story of how CuJo became a leaf
-The effects of your coach/GM being the same person
-The lack of respect players had for Quinn and rest of coaching staff
-The JFJ era (very eye-opening)
-Why the "just blow it up and start over" approach doesn't always work.

These are some of the things that stand out in my mind.

Anyone else read it? Comments?

Try Amazon.com

 

[NaiveLeafsFan]

Can I get the Spark Notes Edition?

 

[Thrillingbroom]

I read it, the most interesting parts I thought were the JFJ years and the interview with JFJ. Also the part of Getzky really wanting to be a Leaf was new to me.

 

[mulebreath]

-The lack of respect players had for Quinn and rest of coaching staff

That's news to me, I'm not sure I buy it

 

[Morbo]

by Al Strachan. Anyone ever read this book?

Reading a book written by Al Strachan seems like a bad idea.

 

[My Sweet Shadow]

It's always been a book that I've been tempted to read, but even now at $10.49 it just doesn't seem worth it.

What are his glorious plans to fix the Leafs by the way?

 

[mooseOAK*]

-The lack of respect players had for Quinn and rest of coaching staff

That's news to me, I'm not sure I buy it

His teams played hard for Quinn.

 

[Leafssss]

 

[Cool Beans Man]

Could someone expand on the Cujo signing bit?

Also, is the JFJ interview referring his plan on a full-blown rebuild, and getting rejected by Peddie and Co.?

 

[TeamBester]

His teams played hard for Quinn.

He had his loyalties.

 

[jablueblue]

I actually read this.. and apart from a good history lesson on the Ballard era, which was more factual than anything, it was pretty bad..
All of his opinions were completely out to lunch. His bottom line reasoning for why the tanking approach doesnt work was that 'if you're lucky enough to get four first overall picks, by the time you're ready to contend, all four will be making max salaries and the rest of the team will suck.' I think he tried to make good points but ended up talking out his ass for the second half of the whole freakin book.

 

[Grabowaffle84]

Bring Quinn back IMO. At least we were in the playoffs on a regular basis when he coached. Who cares if he chewed gum a lot and showed little emotion behind the bench.

 

[Duke Silver]

Bring Quinn back IMO. At least we were in the playoffs on a regular basis when he coached. Who cares if he chewed gum a lot and showed little emotion behind the bench.

Quinn was a major reason why this team has been so awful for so long. Not as big a reason as JFJ and his moves, but he left JFJ with a very bare cupboard of prospects because of his propensity to trade good young players for aging veterans.

 

[BlueBaron]

Could someone expand on the Cujo signing bit?

Also, is the JFJ interview referring his plan on a full-blown rebuild, and getting rejected by Peddie and Co.?

Have not read the book but as I recall he happened to run into Ken Dryden at a 7-11 in Toronto and a negotiation sparked.

 

[Mansfield]

Lol'd.

And I liked Quinn(as coach at least). And Strachan is an idiot, from what I've seen.

 

[TrueBlue86]

seems to me it's very similar to the 'Leaf Abomination' book.

pretty much same points raised.

i know that book had an interview with JFJ and he talked about how the organization didn't let him rebuild properly basically. i posted a thread on here about that months ago with some quotes.

 

[TrueBlue86]

i found the quotes from the leaf abomination thread that i posted before that were kinda troubling lol

--
These are quotes from our former GM on pages 102-104 of that book.

“We were trying to get a little younger, faster, trying to get more in step with what might be the new reality. But tat wasn’t fully embraced by the board,†Ferguson says. “So it became, ‘We’re going to make the playoffs and retool.’ And the challenge was significantly tougher.â€

“The writing was on the wall, literally, in my PowerPoint presentation,†he says. “It should have been communicated more forcefully that at that time the organization was not anywhere near chock full of this young depth that you were going to need [in the post-lockout era].â€

“[In reports to the board], I had question marks about the playoffs in the post-lockout era. They said, ‘what does that mean?’ I said, ‘What it means is, if you want to keep young assets and be better in the years to come, you’ve got to run the risk tat this club might not be able to qualify,†says Ferguson. “And that wasn’t something they were willing to embrace. And it needed to be embraced. Because you can’t have mixed messages on the front. That approach needs to be embraced n the organization from top to bottom.â€

--

 

[ULF_55]

i found the quotes from the leaf abomination thread that i posted before that were kinda troubling lol

--
These are quotes from our former GM on pages 102-104 of that book.

“We were trying to get a little younger, faster, trying to get more in step with what might be the new reality. But tat wasn’t fully embraced by the board,” Ferguson says. “So it became, ‘We’re going to make the playoffs and retool.’ And the challenge was significantly tougher.”

“The writing was on the wall, literally, in my PowerPoint presentation,” he says. “It should have been communicated more forcefully that at that time the organization was not anywhere near chock full of this young depth that you were going to need [in the post-lockout era].”

“[In reports to the board], I had question marks about the playoffs in the post-lockout era. They said, ‘what does that mean?’ I said, ‘What it means is, if you want to keep young assets and be better in the years to come, you’ve got to run the risk tat this club might not be able to qualify,” says Ferguson. “And that wasn’t something they were willing to embrace. And it needed to be embraced. Because you can’t have mixed messages on the front. That approach needs to be embraced in the organization from top to bottom.”

--

So when Peddie said JFj was too young to handle the Toronto market, it sounds more like "We on the board didn't believe him or his projections. We were wrong and we need someone with more experience so when he tells us the same thing we'll go along with it."


Funny thing is the weakest part of the Leafs was goaltender, and even Burke hasn't addressed that.

 

[TrueBlue86]

So when Peddie said JFj was too young to handle the Toronto market, it sounds more like "We on the board didn't believe him or his projections. We were wrong and we need someone with more experience so when he tells us the same thing we'll go along with it."


Funny thing is the weakest part of the Leafs was goaltender, and even Burke hasn't addressed that.

seems like to me JFJ was handcuffed

perhaps pressure was put on burke too initially to 'win now.' when he saw it was unsuccessful, he scaled things back, with 3 trades at the deadline for the future.

 

[topched]

So when Peddie said JFj was too young to handle the Toronto market, it sounds more like "We on the board didn't believe him or his projections. We were wrong and we need someone with more experience so when he tells us the same thing we'll go along with it."


Funny thing is the weakest part of the Leafs was goaltender, and even Burke hasn't addressed that.

Just bad because I'm sure there are a few trades that if JFJ had had full control (assuming he didn't like its been said), this organization could look alot brighter. The rask trade likely doesn't happen, nor does the toskala one. ALong with many others of course.

I really dont think JFJ is to blame too much for the years that he was GM. Its been so clear for a while that Management hired him because he was young, inexperienced, and could be molded into the GM that they wanted. Unfortunately they turned that 5 year period into a fiasco that could't be fixed, and has tacked on another 3-4 years to the franchise's woes.

Nice that we finally have a guy (and a management team around him) that has focus and direction. They're dont have to have the economic interests of the club in mind when making hockey decisions. Its impossible to focus on building a tema for the long term while maximizing profits by making the playoffs in the short term, just doesnt work.

seems like to me JFJ was handcuffed

perhaps pressure was put on burke too initially to 'win now.' when he saw it was unsuccessful, he scaled things back, with 3 trades at the deadline for the future.

I dont think Burke has any pressure whatsoever. He is President and GM, he has not conflicts and pressure, the job is his.

I think he simply misjudged the talent on the roster. He believed that they were good enough to make the playoffs (or at least contend for a spot) when he took over, and thats why he made the Kessel deal. And in all honesty if the leafs finish like they did this year in 09-10 noone blinks an eye and says it was a fine deal.

Once he realized how the players on the roster were actually regressing and there was no light at the end of the tunnel he had to overhaul the greater part of the roster and bring in some different players.

Plan is still in motion, we'll see how it goes.

 

[Flowseidon]

My high school Library had this book, It was the only one i read throughout high school lol. It had some interesting and depressing facts

 

[Hero]

Ownership has always been an issue in TML, not news.

 

[TrueBlue86]

I think he simply misjudged the talent on the roster. He believed that they were good enough to make the playoffs (or at least contend for a spot) when he took over, and thats why he made the Kessel deal. And in all honesty if the leafs finish like they did this year in 09-10 noone blinks an eye and says it was a fine deal.

I agree with that. it's a fact. at the press conference to introduce kessel he explicitly said (it's on youtube) that they finished 7th from the bottom the year before (when we got kadri) and he expects the team to be better next year, so he doesn't expect the pick to be as high. it was a bad assessment because they finished 2nd from the bottom, which sucked.

but although i think seguin will be alright, imagine the disaster if we gave up hall. from the oiler games i watched last year, that guy has a legit chance to be a superstar.