I think the reason they hired JFJ was because many people thought he had a bright future. Brian Burke said that he had a good hockey mind a few years back. His tenure has not been good though. No matter who comes in, getting out of this mess will be hard. Tucker, Kubina, Blake. They are all getting a lot of money and right now don't have a ton of value (although I think Kubina could easily be a top pairing guy on a different team). We have a lot of money tied up in goaltending next year, and Raycroft literally is worthless to other teams. When your best move is picking up a guy off waivers (Kilger), you know your in trouble.
The reason I think MLSE are moving slowly is that they do not want to make the same mistake. They have learned with the Raptors that you need to take your time and hire the right person. I doubt Ferguson has any power to do anything right now anyways.
People say they have no incentive for the team to do better, but if making money is the bottom line, then having a long playoff run every season is neccessary to maximize the amount the team makes.