While both Toronto and Buffalo are close to Detroit geographically, their ownership philosophies could not be further apart.
Barring a surprise victory on Friday night versus the Atlanta Thrashers, the Buffalo Sabres will arrive in Toronto on Saturday riding an 11 game winless streak.
With a number like that, it's hard to believe the Sabres aren't looking up at the woeful Maple Leafs in the NHL standings.
Sad really; considering that the Sabres were the Presidents' Trophy winners as the No. 1 team in the league last season.
Or is it?
In a lot of ways the Sabres are like the Leafs, their struggles on the ice are a direct result of what's been done in the front office and, especially, in the owner's suite.
The fans in Toronto have a tough time working up and anger towards ownership because it's mostly a nameless, faceless group represented by a mostly obscure Board of Directors and a couple of businessmen (Larry Tannenbaum & Richard Peddie) who seem better suited at warring with each other and not very effective at change. That leaves fans focusing on general manager John Ferguson who, though mistake prone and under fire, still ranks as the most qualified hockey person in the organization.
But ultimately it will be Ferguson, and perhaps coach Paul Maurice, who pays the price for the Leafs many shortcomings. But when that happens it will still be status quo in Leafs land because ownership will be exactly the same.
In Buffalo, it's only slightly different. Tom Golisano, viewed just three years ago as a knight on a white horse who rode in and rescued the franchise from bankruptcy, is now looked upon as a penny-pinching incompetent whose interests are being managed by managing partner Larry Quinn, a longtime lightning rod for criticism based on his past performance as president (under different ownership). Quinn, and his perceived mishandling of off-season decisions that left this edition of the Sabres without Daniel Briere and Chris Drury and with a bloated contract for Thomas Vanek that has crippled his production, caused dissention in the locker room and has led to poor decisions in regards to Teppo Numminen's medical problems and Brian Campbell's contract negotiations.
What it would be like if fans could hire and fire owners the way owners do with people they employ to take the hits for them?
After all, the Ottawa Senators have had many of the same problems the current Sabres, including bankruptcy, but owner Eugene Melnyk has managed to keep a good team together and may be a Stanley Cup finalist again this season.
Vancouver and Calgary have complicated ownership situations but continue to ice creditable teams and though the Edmonton Oilers have ownership issues almost as absurd as the Leafs, there is still a focus on doing what's right for the product rather than the profits.
Kudos to each, but if I had a vote for most valuable owner, it would go to Mike Illitch of the Detroit Red Wings.
Year after year the product Illitch puts on the ice as every bit as good as the pizza he puts in the boxes of his first-love business: Little Caesars. His baseball team, the Detroit Tigers, are every bit as good (and well run) as his efforts to reignite development in downtown Detroit. He has his critics, but by and large, Illitch is an owner who understands that you can never go wrong by hiring good people and then giving them what they need to do great work.
His hockey operations are a case in point.
The Red Wings win, plain and simple. They don't win Stanley Cup every year since he took over the failing franchise in 1982, but since they were rebuilt to respectability they certainly are perennial contenders. That's because Illitch put his faith and his cash in Ken Holland, arguably the best general manager in hockey. It's also because Illitch allows Holland to spend money on off-ice personal (assistant GM Jim Nill is said to be paid a GM's salary and has duties that keep him both challenged and in the fold though he could easily have a GM's job elsewhere). Holland also gets to spend on scouting and development and he's been allowed to bid for the best in both coaches (Scott Bowman and now Mike Babcock) and players. He's also been allowed enough of a budget to groom his eventual successor, Steve Yzerman, an investment in both Yzerman and his future as well as an investment in the concept of team as family with the long-serving captain being a focal point for the rest of the players who see the franchise like a family taking care of it own.
Can anyone say that about Buffalo or Toronto? What about other franchises like Florida, Phoenix, Los Angeles and other clubs who have almost as much turnover in the ownership ranks as they do in the player ranks?
Ask yourself how many teams would have kept Scotty Bowman in "the family" after he retired as coach of the Red Wings after winning his last of three Cups there in 2002. Also on staff is Mark Howe, son of Gordie Howe and a legendary defenceman in his own right, looking after scouting. And then there is Bob McCammon, a legendary hockey coach and administrator who remains on call for Holland or Babcock to use as they see fit.
It's been said that Detroit has more pro scouts than Central Scouting has for its amateur operations and an amateur scouting base that is larger than any two combined teams in the league.
There are also reports that the Red Wings, at least before the salary cap came into play, would readily spend more than they took in if they felt they were anywhere near close to having a successful season. A good deal of that money is spent keeping scouts and administrators happily working for the Red Wings rather than having them accept offers from other teams. Match that commitment to the Leafs, who've had a revolving door in regards to everyone from scouts to medical staff to coaches and behind the scenes folks. Or to the Sabres, who last season threw their entire scouting department over the side in what they say was a commitment to video scouting. In reality, and consistent with what their critics maintain, the move was a brutal budget slash to increase profitability at the expense of long-time employees.
Clearly ownership matters. You can see it in what George Gillett is attempting to do in Montreal and what's finally happening in Chicago now that the more enlightened heirs of Bill Wirtz are running the franchise.
As for the others? Well short of moving to Detroit, they can only hope to be so lucky.
Jim Kelley writes regularly on the NHL for Sportsnet.ca and can be heard on Primetime Sports on the FAN590.
