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The past four years have been quite similar for Bob Gainey and John Ferguson. They took command of hockey's two most storied franchises in 2003, had to relearn their trade in the new postlockout National Hockey League, and have watched their teams play to similar results.
But if the past is similar, the future looks entirely different for the two men and their teams, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.
"They both have mediocre current situations," said one NHL executive, who wished to remain anonymous.
"But Ferguson put the Leafs in a situation where they have a terrible future and Gainey put Canadiens in a situation where they have a great future."
Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson.
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Gainey, of course, has more pure hockey credibility than his Toronto rival. He parlayed 16 seasons in a Canadiens jersey into five Stanley Cups and induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Ferguson, whose late father John Sr. also won five Stanley Cup titles with Les Habitants, was a 12th-round pick of Montreal in 1985 but never played a game in the NHL.
Both men took over their teams before the start of the 2003-04 NHL season and since then, at least until this fall, they have almost the same regular-season record - 134-98-29 for Gainey's Canadiens and 132-95-35 for Ferguson's Maple Leafs before Toronto's game last night against the Buffalo Sabres. Both teams missed the playoffs last season. But that is where any resemblance between them ends, according to many around the NHL.
Gainey is regarded as the better GM because his moves have the Canadiens positioned for a bright future, well-stocked with young talent, drafted and developed within the organization.
Goaltender Carey Price defenceman Andrei Markov and forwards Christopher Higgins and Tomas Plekanec have Montreal fans happily looking ahead. Gainey also received a contract extension to 2010.
Ferguson, on the other hand, handcuffed himself and the Leafs by trading away draft picks for short-term player solutions and signing veteran free agents to long and expensive contracts, despite vowing to build with young talent when he took the job.
Today, the Leafs are stuck with long contracts awarded to underperforming players such as Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina and already have more than $40-million (U.S.) in salary committed to next season for a team that may not make the playoffs. Ferguson did not get the contract extension he wanted and if the Leafs fail to make the postseason, he will undoubtedly be let go.
So far this season, the teams' performances reflect this situation. The Canadiens are 9-3-3 with 21 points and stand fourth in the Eastern Conference. The Leafs, before last night's game, were 6-7-3 with 15 points, locked in a three-way fight for eighth place.
The Canadiens' strong start has been supported by the solid performance of the team's young players. Of the 31 players taken by Montreal in the NHL entry draft since 2004, five are with the Canadiens and six are with their top farm team, the Hamilton Bulldogs, reigning Calder Cup champions.
Ferguson can say he has eight draft picks playing on the Leafs, but only one, forward Jiri Tlusty, was selected after he took over. Of the other 25 picks made under Ferguson, only three have made it to Toronto's farm team, the Toronto Marlies. He had two first-round picks in his first four years at the draft because the others were traded away.
One of the first-round picks Ferguson did make, goaltender Tuukka Rask in 2005, was traded to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Alexander Raycroft. After Raycroft struggled last season, Ferguson traded away his first-round pick in 2007 as part of the deal to get Vesa Toskala. Neither goaltender is considered among the NHL's elite.
"That was a terrible trade," one NHL scout said of the Rask-for-Raycroft deal. "Good 19-year-old goalies are really hard to get and you have to hang on with them for a few years. You can never get full value for a young goalie until he proves himself."
However, there are NHL people who say Ferguson walked into a difficult situation, not only with the awkward internal politics of the Leafs' parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, but with the team itself. Previous general managers who were not restricted by a salary cap, from Cliff Fletcher to Pat Quinn, routinely traded away draft picks and young players for veteran help in the short term.
