One of the worst situations a GM can find themselves in is coming off a tough season. They are under pressure to do something, anything, to turn things around.
That’s the situation Steve Yzerman is in Detroit. The Red Wings were expected to contend for a playoff spot. And for most of the season, they were hot. They managed to stay atop the Atlantic Division. Then, everything went south, leading to so many unanswered questions about Yzerman’s decisions.
That’s not the situation in Toronto this season. Brad Treliving already took the heat for the poor season. He was the scapegoat, and that’s that. That’s why the Maple Leafs’ incoming GM doesn’t have to do anything. They can play the “evaluation” card and wait.
That’s the first thing Sunny Mehta said in New Jersey. The reality is that savvy businesspeople know that making decisions out of pressure can lead to mistakes.
Just look at the Brandon Carlo and Scott Laughton trades (both of them). They were hasty decisions fueled by the fear of missing out.
The next Maple Leafs’ GM doesn’t have that pressure. If anyone ever questions their passiveness, they can always point to the previous administration’s mistakes. They can always say, “I want to take my time to do things right.”
Of course, the next Maple Leafs’ GM can’t sit on their hands for weeks or months. But they will have plenty of runway to make the right calls later rather than sooner.
Maple Leafs’ new GM has luxury of waiting to make decision on Berube
One of the biggest luxuries the next Maple Leafs’ GM has is time to decide on Craig Berube’s fate. The incoming GM doesn’t have to decide anything about Berube this season. In fact, the club can roll with Berube to start the season. The new GM can give Berube a chance, knowing full well that if things don’t start well, they can axe Berube early in the season.
That’s a card the next Toronto GM won’t want to play now. Suppose they go ahead and can Berube. They bring someone in, and the season goes south. There’s no runway there. The Leafs can’t come back and fire a new coach two months into the season.
That’s why new GMs don’t fire coaches right off the bat. They need dry powder. So, let’s assume Berube and the Leafs turn things around. Well, the new GM can say, “See, I told you so.”
If Berube flops, he can come in and say, “All right, I gave him a chance, now it’s time for some tough love.”
Yes, it’s all business. It’s all posturing. But those are the rules of the game. In fact, it’s even worse in the traditional business world. It might not be the prettiest way to run an organization. But at the end of the day, it’s a results-oriented industry. Fans, like investors, don’t like to wait. Even if results don’t appear immediately, they at least want to see a tangible path towards getting results.
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