Maple Leafs Continue Making Changes

The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to make changes to their front office structure. On Sunday, the team announced that assistant general managers Brandon Pridham and Derek Clancey have parted ways with the organization.

According to Sportsnet’s hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, a lot of people around the league felt it was the right time for Pridham to move on. Pridham still had two years left on his contract. The Maple Leafs were interested in keeping him if he wanted to stay. However, the two sides decided to part ways.

Pridham was the longest-running holdover from the Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas era. In 2014, he was one of Shanahan’s first hires when he became team president. Pridham was originally hired as a special assistant to the general manager. He held that role for the first four years of his tenure. He was promoted to assistant GM in 2018 by Kyle Dubas and has held on to that title for the last eight seasons.

Friedman reported that Pridham interviewed for the Maple Leafs GM job. However, the interview reportedly did not go particularly well. Toronto eventually hired John Chayka for the GM job.

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Maple Leafs Head Coach Search Continues

Toronto has reportedly held some initial talks with University of Denver head coach David Carle. The conversation was mainly to gauge Carle’s interest in the vacant head coach job of the Maple Leafs.

It remains unclear whether the 36-year-old Carle is willing to leave the college ranks. He has previously turned down offers from multiple NHL teams. Carle has a young family and an excellent job at the University of Denver. Taking the head coaching job with the Maple Leafs would mean uprooting his family and bringing them to Toronto.

Craig Berube to Edmonton is a Possibility

Toronto has reportedly granted the Edmonton Oilers permission to speak with Craig Berube. Berube was relieved of his duties as the Maple Leafs head coach after meeting with new GM John Chayka. Many around the league didn’t think it would be long before Berube found another coaching job. Are the Oilers the right fit? We’ll have to wait and see.

Berube is a dump-and-chase style coach. He demanded that Maple Leafs players play more defensively, to the point where goal production went down. The veteran coach was bailed out by good goaltending during his first season with the team. However, it couldn’t save him this season, and we all know how that ended. I don’t think he’s the right fit for the Oilers.

Toronto Marlies North Divisional Final

The Toronto Marlies returned home this weekend. The Maple Leafs AHL affiliate is tied 1-1 in their best-of-five North Divisional Series against the Cleveland Monsters. Games 3 and 4 will be played in Toronto. Game 3 will be played on Wednesday, and Game 4 will be played on Friday, May 22nd. Game 5 (if needed) will be in Cleveland on Sunday, May 24th.

The winner will advance to the Conference Finals to play the winner of the Springfield Thunderbirds and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Their series is also tied 1-1 as of Tuesday morning.