Toronto Maple Leafs Coaching Candidates: Who should replace Craig Berube?

With this disastrous season almost at its end, the Toronto Maple Leafs need to have a long look in the mirror. Everything about this franchise needs to be reviewed after this waste of a season. The first big move was letting go of General Manager Brad Treliving. As he did with the Calgary Flames, Treliving led the Maple Leafs into the ground with no way out. With the chances of losing their first-round pick being likely, the Leafs do not really have anything going for them at the moment. Is the first move to fire Craig Berube after the season? As much as Treliving gets some of the blame, so does Berube. Let’s take a look at some new potential coaching options.

Bruce Cassidy

Obviously, the most well-known name on the coaching market right now is Bruce Cassidy. He was recently let go by the Vegas Golden Knights and was then replaced by John Tortorella. This firing came as a complete shock, as Cassidy had some awesome moments with the Golden Knights. This move just goes to show that the Golden Knights will do whatever it takes to win.

Cassidy has a very well-built career. He was a first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks way back in 1983, but then turned to a coaching career in the 1996–97 season. He worked his way up from the ECHL, OHL, and AHL until he finally secured a consistent role as an NHL head coach. His first full-time gig came in the 2016–17 season with the Boston Bruins. Cassidy took over from Claude Julien and led the Bruins to many successful seasons.

Cassidy’s best years with the Bruins organization came in 2018–19 and 2019–20. The Bruins made it all the way to Game 7 in the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, where they unfortunately fell to the St. Louis Blues. The following year was a bit of a bounce-back for Cassidy, as he won his first-ever Jack Adams Award for being the best coach in the NHL. After his time in Boston, Cassidy joined the Golden Knights and won the Stanley Cup in 2023. Unfortunately, Cassidy really faltered this season and is now looking for a new coaching job. Should the Leafs try to pursue him?

Patrick Roy

Another recent NHL firing that the Leafs could consider is bringing in Patrick Roy. Now, Roy is best known for his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, but that must be ignored when making the best decision for the team. Roy’s coaching career began way back in the 2005–06 season with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. He was their head coach for eight full seasons until he finally secured an NHL role with the Avalanche.

Roy began his time as an NHL head coach in 2013. Here, he found huge success as he led the Avalanche into the playoffs with an impressive 52–22–8 record, which secured him the Jack Adams Award. They went into the playoffs with a lot of confidence, but were on the wrong end of a huge upset as the Minnesota Wild sent them home in round one. After this memorable season, Roy missed the playoffs the following two years and was back coaching in the QMJHL.

Roy gained a new NHL head coach position in the 2023–24 season with the New York Islanders. He took over the reins from Lane Lambert, who is now the head coach in Seattle. Roy did not last long with the Islanders. He lost in round one in the 2024 playoffs to the Carolina Hurricanes and missed the year after.

The best part of Roy’s time in New York was getting to coach Matthew Schaefer. Even though he got fired, Schaefer clearly thrived under him. He is on pace to be the clear rookie of the year winner. Under another coach, who knows how well Schaefer would have performed? The young defenceman stated that “Roy helped me so much in my first NHL season, and we (the team) take full responsibility.”

Peter Laviolette

A veteran option that the Leafs could turn towards is Peter Laviolette. The 61-year-old has coached in the NHL for over 20 years, and could still be a viable option. Laviolette has worked with a variety of different teams, but his most successful year came early on in his career. In just his fourth year as an NHL head coach, Laviolette led the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006. This still marks the only time that Laviolette won the Stanley Cup.

After his Stanley Cup victory, Laviolette remained in Carolina but failed to get back into the playoffs. After a while, he was moved on from and began a new chapter with the Philadelphia Flyers. Laviolette began his time in Philly with a bang, as he led them to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season. Unfortunately, they ran into the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals, where Patrick Kane sealed the victory for Chicago. This was Laviolette’s farthest season with the Flyers. After this, the coach went and did the same with the Nashville Predators.

Laviolette led the Predators to the Cup Finals, but lost to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. This was way back in 2017, and it is the last time that Laviolette appeared in the finals. Since then, he has either lost fairly early in the playoffs or missed them completely. After bouncing around between Washington and New York, Laviolette has found himself without a coaching job. Should the Leafs give him one more chance? Or are his coaching days behind him?

What do you think?

Out of these three coaches, which one would be the best option moving forward? I think Bruce Cassidy is the right option. He is an offensively minded winning coach, which is exactly what the Leafs need with Auston Matthews and William Nylander on the team.