Wilson ponders Leafs' offer

TIM WHARNSBY
HOCKEY REPORTER

Toronto Globe and Mail

June 4, 2008

The Toronto Maple Leafs do not expect to announce the hiring of Ron Wilson as their 27th head coach until at least the weekend.

Wilson met three times with interim general manager Cliff Fletcher over the past two days, and the recently fired San Jose Sharks coach left yesterday with an offer in hand. He planned to return to his home in Hilton Head, S.C., to mull over the proposal with his wife over the next few days.

The two sides have been committed to working out a deal, and the discussions between Fletcher and Wilson, who did his own negotiating, on Monday evening and twice more yesterday were deemed positive.

There has been speculation that Leafs want to delay an announcement on Wilson's hiring until after the Stanley Cup final between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins. But Fletcher said yesterday he does not expect to hear back from Wilson, 53, until the weekend.

"We did make him an offer," Fletcher said. "He's returning home to South Carolina to think about it with his wife. We will probably not touch base again until the weekend. It's up to Ron now."

Is the Wilson hiring just another stepping stone for the Leafs to eventually land Brian Burke, who has been at the top of their wish list as the club's next GM? It sure appears that way. Burke has one more season remaining on his four-year contract as the Anaheim Ducks' GM, but has resisted agreeing to a contract extension with Anaheim.

His friendship with Wilson is no secret. The two were co-captains with the Providence College hockey team in the mid-1970s, and after Wilson's playing career ended in 1988, he joined the Vancouver Canucks' coaching staff. Burke was the Canucks' director of hockey operations at the time. Burke also is the godfather to one of Wilson's daughters.

But unless Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli have a change of heart and let Burke, 53, out of the final year of his contract, he is expected to finish out his contract in Anaheim.

When reached yesterday, Wilson didn't shed any light on his situation.

"I really don't have anything to talk about or comment on at this time," he said.

Wilson was born in Windsor, Ont., but was raised in Riverside, R.I. He became a U.S. citizen when he was 18. His father, Larry, played junior for the Windsor Spitfires and later in 152 NHL games with the Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

The younger Wilson, a defenceman, was drafted by the Leafs and played 64 games in the late 1970s for Toronto.

With Wilson poised to become the Leafs' next head coach, the number of head-coaching vacancies has been reduced to four: the Atlanta Thrashers, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and the Sharks.

Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Lightning finally got around to firing John Tortorella. But this was the worst kept secret since Hockey Night in Canada revealed on April 26 that incoming owner Oren Koules would bring with him former Los Angeles Kings coach Barry Melrose as his new coach.

With Koules's Tampa Bay ownership scheduled to be approved at the next NHL board of governors meeting in New York in two weeks, the ousting of Tortorella allows him to pursue the openings with the Thrashers, Panthers, Senators and Sharks.

Tortorella coached the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup championship.

"John was entering the final year of his contract and extending his contract was not a viable option," Lightning GM Jay Feaster said at a news conference to announce the firing.

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