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BREAKING: Leafs Fire GM (of Concessions)

By Bobby Cappuccino

Jan 19, 2015, 12:52 ESTUpdated:

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In a continued effort by Brendan Shanahan and Dave Nonis to change the culture of the Toronto Maple Leafs, George Mason – known affectionately simply as GM by his family and close friends – was relieved of his concession-selling duties today.

“We want to thank GM for all of his hard work. The amount of extra cheese he sold on nachos in November 2013 was that of which we hadn’t seen in awhile. Unfortunately since then, he just wasn’t able to sustain his sales on a consistent basis. We needed to make a change”, said Dave Nonis, who seems to be simultaneously heavily involved and not involved at all with the firing.

GM’s firing comes on the heels of a viral social media campaign started by Leafs fans. #FireGM had been trending on Twitter on and off for months, with complaints about him directed to the official MLSE twitter account (@mlse) really picking up in the last few days.

“asked the confections guy if i could get fries to go with my burger. he said no. when i asked why, he took the top bun off of the burger and threw it out. #FireGM @mlse”

“wanted a coke, and the guy at gate 309 gave me a diet coke instead because “coke instantly activates the diabetes” i dont think thats how it works??? @mlse #FireGM”

“went to gate 309 to get some popcorn, and the guy didnt know how to get the popper to work @mlse #FireGM”

The move is unsurprising, but the timing is curious. Concession sales have been consistently inconsistent, leading many to feel like this was a firing that would have been made last offseason. Still, it is an obvious effort to change the culture that surrounds the Toronto Maple Leafs, something Nonis says is crucial.

“We know our fans are disappointed and it is very obvious from the feedback on social media that they are first and foremost disappointed in the food and drink options that we offer. That has to change.”

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One of the ways they are doing that is with the hiring of 82 year old Henry Allen, winner of 1967’s Palm D’Food.

“Henry is a winner that brings a lot of experience to our sales staff. He has been around forever and knows exactly what it takes to get our sales back on track.”

The one note of concern about Allen is his severe arthritis, which doesn’t allow him to hand heavy trays of food back to customers. That doesn’t seem to bother Nonis.

“Our team of physicians looked at his medical records before we hired him. We are confident that he will be fine, and that any physical ability he lacks will be made up for with his veteran leadership.”

As for what’s next for the organization and the on-ice product?

“We’ll get to the players soon, but first we have to take some time to evaluate our ticket sales staff.”

Culture change really is afoot.