I want to believe John Ferguson, Jr. has a plan. I really, really do. The more I see this guy in action and hear what he has to say, the less I believe that to be true. At times Ferguson seems clueless, entirely in over his head.
Let's talk about #88 for a moment, shall we? Admittedly, I've always been an Eric Lindros fan. This has been the case since he was an Oshawa General. When Mats Sundin was out with his eye injury early last season, I felt Lindros really stepped it up and carried us until his return. Unfortunately, a wrist injury limited him to just 33 games in which he scored eleven goals and added eleven assists. Lindros has always wanted to play for the Leafs and last year he took less money to do so. He wanted to re-sign with us but Ferguson did everything possible to tell Lindros he wasn't welcome back. He stayed firm on a $1 million dollar contract with zero incentives while Dallas, Los Angeles and Edmonton wooed the Big E with more money and performance bonuses under the CBA exception noted in Section 50.2 b C(2)(iii) for 400-game NHL players who'd spent at least 100 days on IR the previous season. Before agreeing to terms with the Stars, Lindros couldn't even get Ferguson to return his call. Lindros had no option but to go some place where he was actually desired.
Has Ferguson seen a list of our forwards for next season? Does he realize how far things fall at centre ice after Sundin? At $1.5 million, Lindros would have been a great bargain. Apparently, his deal with Dallas is for $1.55 million and another million in incentives. I think he's worth it. Now it's too late.
The Lindros era in Toronto is over and it was all too brief. It shouldn't have ended this way and the blame rests on the shoulders of our rudderless GM. Lord, give me faith.
