Let’s start this off by talking about the coaching change.
As we all know by now, Craig Berube was fired by the Leafs and the search for a new bench boss has commenced. Berube being let go should come as no surprise to anybody, as the previous season was very tough to watch and the group as constructed was incapable of playing his style of hockey.
We’re guessing at what type of coach GM John Chayka may want for this group of players moving forward and his past in Arizona gives us no real clues as to who that may be. The only coach Chayka personally hired in Arizona was Rick Tocchet, who is now the head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers. What we do know is that Tocchet had a history of playing for and was an assistant coach with the Coyotes before being named head coach there. While I don’t know if the familiarity with the organization played a part in the hiring, we also know that Manny Malhotra has been an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which could help him if he does want to throw his hat in the ring for the position.
Aside from that I have a gut feeling that Chayka isn’t going to hire a veteran head coach. Bruce Cassidy is already rumoured to covet the Edmonton Oilers opening over the Leafs, which takes him out of contention.
Peter Laviolette, however, is a free agent and has coached for over 20 years in the NHL. Some of the criticisms that follow Laviolette are the same as the ones Leafs Nation levied towards Craig Berube over the past year, including leaning on veteran players and not giving opportunities to younger, unproven players such as Alex Steeves. He tends to last for about 5 years whenever he is though, which is great compared to the NHL average shelf life of a coach, which is 2.3 years. I think Laviolette is a guy that you bring in when your team is ready to compete and that isn’t where the Leafs are right now, but that’s genuinely the only reason I’m not going to speak about him more.
David Carle is a coach that I find very interesting and we could hear his name a little more as the search heats up. Carle is being pegged as the best coach not in the NHL and is said to relate very well to the younger generation of hockey players. He has lead the University of Denver to three NCAA titles in 2022, 2024 and 2026, as well as winning gold at the World Juniors in 2024 and 2025. He values puck possession, high offense and runs a very structured system, but he isn’t afraid to make in-game adjustments and adapt to whatever is thrown his way. To me he sounds similar to Sheldon Keefe in terms of what you would expect to see on the ice, except Keefe was consistently outcoached in every playoff series in which he was behind the Leafs bench, due to this inability to adapt to his opponent. Carle appears to be willing to make adjustments on the fly, which is imperative for a coach in the current NHL. Of course it won’t be easy to get Carle out of Denver, as he is a major part of their program and has been there for years. He is said to be aiming for a high salary and may even want to be a part of the roster construction process. While that seems to be a lot for a coach that has never been behind the bench in the AHL or NHL, I would also lean towards the nothing ventured, nothing gained mantra. Carle has been involved in hockey his entire life and appears to be calm and calculating, which could help the Leafs in the long run. Finally, the Chicago Blackhawks offered Carle a position in 2025, but he declined the opportunity to remain in Denver. That alone shows just how committed he is to the University of Denver.
Jay Woodcroft’s name has been circulating and I’m not sure I agree with this one. The biggest praise levied Woodcroft’s way is his ability to maximize the offensive output of his star players. This is backed by Connor McDavid’s 153pt season in which Woodcroft was his coach in Edmonton, which stands as a career high. Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman also had career years that season, which was the only full campaign he coached in the NHL. He is now an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks, under Joel Quenneville, where the team as a whole saw an uptick in their offensive output. As is the case with many coaches that implement an offense first style, it’s his defensive structure that is often criticized. The Oilers often found themselves in panic mode in the defensive zone, which ultimately cost them their season and Woodcroft his job. Once again, I find myself comparing coaches with less experience to Sheldon Keefe and Woodcroft sounds like a similar coach in terms of his system and general view of the game.
Manny Malhotra, as I stated before, could be an option as well and has familiarity with the organization from his time as an assistant coach in Toronto. He’s currently the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks, where he won the Calder Cup in 2025. Whats unclear at the moment is if he’d even want to return to Toronto. His time spent with the Leafs wasn’t overly successful, which may be something that prevents both sides from talking.
Steve Sullivan was an assistant GM in Arizona with John Chayka, which may give him the inside track in terms of remaining on board, at least in some capacity. Sullivan doesn’t have head coaching experience, but he helped turn the powerplay around after he replaced Marc Savard earlier this season. It wouldn’t surprise me if Sullivan was given some serious consideration considering his history with Chayka, even if he is too green in my opinion.
Dean Evason has spent parts of 7 seasons behind an NHL bench as head coach, another 6 in the AHL and 6 more in the WHL. He has had a lot of regular season success during that time, but he mirrors the Leafs’ past decade in the sense that he has struggled to get out of the 1st round of the playoffs. He made the playoffs in all 6 of his WHL seasons and made it past the 1st round once, before losing in round 2. In 4 of his 6 season’s in the AHL he made the playoffs and lost in the 1st round each time. Then in Minnesota he made he lost in the qualifying round during the NHL’s shortened season due to Covid, before losing in the 1st round for the next three season’s. In short, he has only made it to the 2nd round once, but never the third. With that said, he demands that his players work hard, is said to keep them accountable and is a strong defensive coach that places emphasis on team mentality and strong locker room culture. Who knows, with Evason behind the bench, maybe he and the Leafs could figure out how to go deep in the playoffs together.
Todd Nelson might be the perfect fit if you’re going with a coach that lacks NHL experience, but you still want pro level experience. He is currently an assistant coach in Pittsburgh, but had been a head coach in the AHL for years, where he won the Calder Cup on three separate occasions and with two separate organizations. His first win was with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2016-17, while the other two were back to back championships with the Hershey Bears in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He has historically had strong special teams and was in charge of the Pens powerplay this season, which finished 7th in the NHL. Through his time in the AHL he has developed the ability to work with younger players, which could be useful depending on how the Leafs move forward under the new regime.
There are so many more coaches I could speak about, but until we hear some concrete rumours about the direction in which they intend to go we’re really just taking shots in the dark here. I’m guessing that Chayka will look for a more progressive candidate, which David Carle certainly fits, but if a younger guy with pro experience is something they covet then a guy like Woodcroft or Nelson certainly could help. While they have plenty of veteran options, Laviolette and Evason likely lead the lot in that race.
No matter who they bring in to coach the team, they’ll need to improve the blueline.
If Chris Johnston is to be trusted on this, it will show me that the new management group is at least pretending to be more serious about improving the blueline. They have already stated that upgrading the defense is a necessity, with an eye on a more mobile group being key. Now the question has to be asked; What type of defenders could you land if you’re finally willing to trade William Nylander? The higher the cap ceiling soars, the better his $11.5M AAV looks and he has 6 years left on his deal. Any team that trades for him would get cost certainty, if nothing else.
I do find it strange that teams are being told “any player on their roster except Auston Matthews” considering the Captain is the one that is rumoured to have one foot out the door already. I understand the want for a player to know the plan and I also realize that a player of his caliber is often included in that discussion, but to hear that he won’t be back unless he’s impressed with, not just the plan, but the early execution of it, is disheartening as a fan. Leafs Nation, as a whole, pour so much into the team that it’s absurd. Other fan bases hate this one because there are so many of us. Also, because there are so many of us it draws a ton of media, which is infuriating for the rest of the fan bases. With that in mind, fans simply want players that care about the logo on the front of their sweater, not the name on the back. Hearing that a player doesn’t want to come back unless you “wow” him over the next couple of months isn’t a sign of a guy that truly loves that logo, at least in my opinion. I know it’s easy for me to say this from a distance, but I do feel that if I were in Chayka’s position right now I’d at least want to hear what other teams would be willing to offer for #34’s services. That doesn’t mean you need to trade him, but there’s nothing wrong with listening and who knows, maybe a team steps up with an offer that blows the doors off this bus that is the Leafs.
Brandon Pridham is seeking greener pastures. I wish him luck, as we’ve all heard nothing but good things over the years. Of course, we never heard anything from him, personally, but by all accounts the team lost a smart, competent part of their front office.
There are rumours that the Leafs are poking around the trade market and targeting veteran centres. Vincent Trocheck’s name has been floated and I have to say, while some disagree, he’s a perfect fit for the roster in my opinion. He’s good on draws, plays a defensive game, plays with drive, kills penalties and while he is already in his 30s, he hasn’t slowed down a ton and has 3 years left on his contract at a very reasonable $5.625M. For a player that just produced 53pts in 67 games, that’s a solid contract. The only thing that would make me hesitate is the cost to acquire. This isn’t a great time to start giving away picks and prospects, but he also has less and less teams that he can block a trade to as his contract moves on, with the final 2 years having just a 6 team no trade clause. He may be an asset that you rent for a while, before re-cooping some assets on before he leaves for free.
As we wait for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to end and the real offseason to begin, I find myself trying to change my mind on the idea that all of Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo and Simon Benoit need to be relocated. That would leave just Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe and Oliver Ekman-Larsson from last season’s main group of defenders. My mind hasn’t changed yet, but I’m open to hearing what other’s have to say.