BLEAK AND BLUE

Vol. 41 / Issue 21 - February 19, 1988

BY JARED CLINTON

MODERN WISDOM suggests that in times of turmoil, the coach tends to be first out the door, but when the floundering Maple Leafs couldn’t pull out of a tailspin that spanned about one-third of the campaign, GM Gerry McNamara was made the fall guy. Just how bad were things? Having entered mid-December flirting with a .500 record, the Leafs proceeded to win just two of their next 26 games. On his way out, McNamara didn’t pull any punches. In fact, he took dead-eyed aim straight at bench boss John Brophy. “I refuse to take responsibility for what’s happened on the ice,” he said. “I tried to guide (Brophy) a bit, but unfortunately, he didn’t listen.” Mercurial Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard fired Brophy the next season. Neither he nor McNamara ever…

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