TORONTO - If given more time to let draft picks mature, empowered to hire and fire coaches and not compromised by the owner’s headline-hogging, then history might judge Gerry McNamara quite differently.
But the general manager often vilified for the Maple Leafs’ “lost decade” of the 1980s has never wavered in the belief he was on the right track, despite working within confounding parameters set by Harold Ballard.
Almost 30 years since McNamara’s firing, the Leafs have gone through eight GMs, most of whom had more resources or autonomy — or both. However, they didn’t get to a Stanley Cup final, either.