Is there a conspiracy against the Leafs?

[whysoserious]

Okay, here me out and I may be stretching on this.

Why are the Leafs constantly being turned down by other organizations in wanting to talk to different people?

I understand when it comes to the likes of Burke and Holland and such for various reasons/ But when I'm hearing that we can't even talk to lesser names with other organizations I'm starting to wonder what's going on.

Does anyone think the NHL may have been pissed off about the Leafs making no bones about wanting Burke and doing everything they can without actually saying it....

Something does seem right when we're being turned down to speak with Joe Nieuwendyk.

I know I'm probably stretching and maybe just more upset about how long this process is along with the fear that the Leafs will screw it up like anything they normally do.

[Tor-Rap-Tor]

Okay, here me out and I may be stretching on this.

Why are the Leafs constantly being turned down by other organizations in wanting to talk to different people?

I understand when it comes to the likes of Burke and Holland and such for various reasons/ But when I'm hearing that we can't even talk to lesser names with other organizations I'm starting to wonder what's going on.

Does anyone think the NHL may have been pissed off about the Leafs making no bones about wanting Burke and doing everything they can without actually saying it....

Something does seem right when we're being turned down to speak with Joe Nieuwendyk.

I know I'm probably stretching and maybe just more upset about how long this process is along with the fear that the Leafs will screw it up like anything they normally do.

I don't think there's a conspiracy but other teams are holding on to their upper management, as in the case of Burke, he is probably one of the top five GM's in hockey and in a desperate move to keep him The Ducks have offered him a substantial package to re-sign (as of yet he hasn't)...

In the case of Nieuwendyk, he is under contract until july 1st (after the draft) and then we can talk to him, evidently they think he has too much insight into players that they have interest in, in this years draft...

I for one am not worried about the time it has taken to get a new GM, we still have Fletcher and he is preparing for the up coming draft and making trades and is capable of running the team in the interim. I'm sure all the pieces will be in place when training camp starts in the fall. It is best to get the right people for the job and avoid another JFJ/Maurice fiasco...

JFJ and Maurice are sill under contract to us and we could turn down other teams, should we decide they can't talk to to them, until after their contracts are up (however I'm sure we would let them negotiate with other teams if they asked)...

[kelso]

I agree with the previous poster on other teams holding on to their talent, however I also think the other organizations are letting MLSE know what they think of how JFJ was handled last year.

Peddie's treatment of the JFJ situation didn't endear anyone to the Leafs and I'm sure aspiring GM's out there aren't exactly enthused about working for that guy.

It should be no surprise that Ken Holland isn't going anywhere- if you worked for Detroit, would you leave? They are a perrenial powerhouse that treats their people like gold, they draft arguably better than anyone and they have an owner that knows how to treat people and spend his money wisely. We have none of those things.

[whysoserious]

No doubt.....maybe just the frustration. Just find it funny how we're being denied left and right and other teams are able to speak to different individuals.....

[emfive]

The thing about the Leafs is that they have been on the grasssy knoll and in the Limo at the same time.

[MAS]

The Leafs are the one team that everyone loves to hate. A lot of the time I feel like it is us against the world. It causes problems in CBA negotiations because our needs are so different from most of the league that we don't get taken care of at all.

I wise our ownership sometimes would find ways to stick it to the league and go around the rules and DARE them to challenge them legally. (i'm talking about signing a certain undrafted player). I think at the very least it would show that they really care and give us something to talk about