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Leafs sign Ron Wilson as Coach before signing GM

Leafs sign Ron Wilson as Coach before signing GM.

What do you think of the lastest developments of
the Toronto Maple Leafs? What do you think of
Ron Wilson as a coach?

My opinion is there were other options to hire as
a coach. For one I felt Greg Gilbert (coach of Toronto
Marlies AHL) should have been given a shot at the
Leaf coaching job. Or give John Anderson (Coach
of Chicago Wolves AHL) a chance as the Leaf
coach. During the NHL playoffs Don Cherry on
'Coaches Corner' said the reason John Anderson
has not recieved any NHL coaching interviews
is because he was too busy winning championships
in AHL.

If you remember the press conference when Paul
Maurice was fired as Leaf coach, Cliff Fletcher
said it was the natural process to hire a GM first
and let the new GM decide who he will bring in
as his coaching staff.

Then what does Cliff Fletcher do? Hire a coach
before hiring a GM. Cliff Fletcher also stated in
that pressconference that The Leafs Management
is operating Normally.

Anyone else see they say one thing and do the
opposite? I think the real truth is Paul Maurice
was fired because the Leafs did not make the
playoffs. The speach about cleaning the house
for new GM to hire his people is just a more
favorable excuse for letting Maurice go. It just
was not the truth.

Any how I am not really impressed in Ron Wilson.
I mean he is a good coach but his winning percentage
is not as high as I would have liked in a Toronto
Maple Leaf Coach. Here is Ron Wilson's general
career coaching stats:

Regular Season
GP W L T OL PTS PTS%
1091 518 426 101 46 1183 .542

Playoffs
G Plyf W Plyf L Plyf T Plyf W% Plyf
82 41 41 0 .500

Main thing with Ron Wilson is the stigma of the
teams he coached only two team went beyond the
second round of the playoffs including this year.

Here is his playoff stats History
1993-94 Anaheim Mighty Ducks - out of playoffs
1994-95 Anaheim Mighty Ducks - out of playoffs
1995-96 Anaheim Mighty Ducks - out of playoffs
1996-97 Anaheim Mighty Ducks - lost in round 2
1997-98 Washington Capitals - lost in finals
1998-99 Washington Capitals - out of playoffs
1999-00 Washington Capitals - lost in round 1
2000-01 Washington Capitals - lost in round 1
2001-02 Washington Capitals - out of playoffs
2003-04 San Jose Sharks - lost in round 3
2005-06 San Jose Sharks - lost in round 2
2006-07 San Jose Sharks - lost in round 2

So overall I am not impressed with Ron Wilson's
playoff record. At this point I dont think there is
any pressure to win as the Leafs are in rebuilding
stage that will probably take 4 years to become
competitive again.

So now that the Leafs hire a coach before a GM
does this mean Cliff Fletcher is going to stay on
for another year perhaps to wait till Brian Burke
is available to sign as GM with Toronto Maple Leafs.

I am very interested to hear your thoughts

Best Regards
Michael Grant
Assistant Moderator of TMLFanz Network
http://mapleleafs.ning.com