As the NHL passes the quarter mark of the season, Atlanta and Washington have already changed coaches and Dallas has fired its General Manager.

It appears that the next team in line to change its management is the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs have not made the playoffs since before the NHL lockout of 2004/05 and despite being the highest valued franchise in the league, they won't make it again this year.

GM John Ferguson Jr. seems to be the one on the hot seat. The Maple Leafs refuse to rebuild their team with good young talent; they would rather spend big money on off-season deals that give them veterans that they do not need or whose best years are already behind them. The Maple Leafs have Mats Sundin and a bunch of third and fourth line players at best, while their defense, where they have spent a lot of money (Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina and Todd Gill) are weak and have a lot of trouble getting the puck out of their own end, never mind defending it. Their goaltending is also in shambles, as any fantasy player knows.

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to blow up their team like the Philadelphia Flyers did last season. They may have to wait closer to the trade deadline, but then they must trade Mats Sundin to a Stanley Cup contender and get a very good prospect or two and a first round pick. Then consider trading Darcy Tucker because he has value, and if possible, Bryan McCabe, although he does have a no-movement clause.

John Ferguson Jr. must be fired and then an interim GM put in to start putting this plan in place. They probably can't turn it around as quickly as the Flyers have, but you have to start somewhere.