JFJ: Soon to Be Resting in Peace

John Ferguson Plank Watch '07 is on in earnest in Toronto right now; the firing of JFJ being as inevitable as another Paul Maurice shopping spree at Hakim Optical. A head will roll for what's happened this season (and last season, and the one before that), and that head just happens to have a little too much gel on it. Since the millionaires at MLSE are all rocking the dry look, that means Ferguson.

Are any of you like me in thinking that the most relieved person after the firing will be Ferguson himself? I'm not a full blown psychiatrist, as I really only went semi-pro, but when I look at JFJ, I see someone who secretly just wants out of the misery that is GM'ing the 07/08 Toronto Maple Leafs. Fergie, seen here internalizing his rage, speaks now in talking points only. With the tight, compressed voice of a man with 90 years of history standing on his chest.

Never being fully qualified for the job, Ferguson stepped into the biggest office in hockey already with two strikes on him. With half the board never wanting him to begin with, they've never allowed for him to operate free and clear of corporate interference. All MLSE has ever done for John Ferguson Jr. is give him enough rope to hang himself.