The Toronto Maple Leafs have moved on to Jim Hiller as their new head coach, but Joe Pavelski was a candidate not too long ago.
The Maple Leafs have moved in a completely different direction since missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade and posting the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They’ve hired a new general manager in John Chayka and Leafs great Mats Sundin as Senior Executive Adviser of Hockey Operations.
They’ve been arguably the most active NHL team in the offseason, making major move after another. One of those major moves was bypassing Pavelski — one of the greatest American skaters of all time — in favor of Hiller. It’s worth noting that the 41-year-old Pavelski is only two years removed from retirement and has never been a head coach. Meanwhile, Hiller not only has recent head coaching experience with the Los Angeles Kings, he was an assistant coach with the Leafs for a few years during Auston Matthews’ first seasons in the league.
When asked if he would consider the Leafs head coaching job if it were open in the future, Pavelski is still open to the idea.
“Yeah, you just see where you are in life, and everything that you’ve been doing, and how everything kind of makes sense at the time,” said Pavelski in a one-on-one interview with Heavy Sports. “Not thinking too much much about it right now. They got a new guy, and let’s just kind of follow along.”
Joe Pavelski on Interviewing for Maple Leafs Head Coaching Job: ‘It was a Good Experience’
Pavelski called it a “good experience” to go through the whole process with Maple Leafs brass and gave major props to Chayka for the work that he’s already done in his first offseason as Toronto’s general manager.
“Yeah, they reached out saying if I had interest, and when you get something, someone to approach you like that, you definitely have to pursue it a little bit,” said Pavelski. “So it was fun, it was a good experience to go through it, see how it really looked like, and what coaching at that level would be like, and I really enjoyed the process of it. Now you’re seeing they’re coming in, and I think the actions that you John has been doing, and some of the moves, and you know they’re working behind the scenes trying to figure out how they’re going to make their team better. They have some great players there, so it’ll be fun to follow, especially after looking into it a little bit deeper, and see how they do.”
Maple Leafs Have Made Major Moves in John Chayka’s First Offseason
The Maple Leafs have signed two-time Stanley Cup champion Sergei Bobrovsky to be their new starting goalie, pulled off a sign-and-trade for rising defenseman Darren Raddysh and also selected Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick. They’ve also made other moves such as signing veterans like Jack Roslovic, Colton Sissons and Nick Paul.
It’s clear that after suffering their worst season in years, the new Maple Leafs brass is determined to reload the roster in an attempt to emerge as a playoff contender once again as soon as next season. Considering the Leafs are only a year removed from coming within a game of defeating the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, they should be in good shape to do that next season.
While Pavelski won’t be coaching in the NHL this season, he is preparing for the American Century Championship. Pavelski is the defending champion of the largest celebrity golf tournament, which features major star names such as Steph Curry, Tony Romo and Josh Allen. Pavelski finished as the winner for the first time after years finishing as a runner-up.
“You get a taste of it, you wants it, you always kind of do something good all those years, and then you win it, and you get a taste,” said Pavelski. “The tournament means a lot, it’s one of those that the energy is, American Century does such a tremendous job with it that you just hope you can be in contention to have a chance to win it again.”
When asked who his top competitors are in the field, Pavelski said it’s Curry — who has won it before — and Mardy Fish, who has won the tournament twice.
“Mardy Fish is right up there, he’s been a recent winner here, and he’s been on some of those other tours that we’ve been playing, and he just recently won one,” said Pavelski. “His game’s always solid, and he can always get hot, so you know you know he’s going to be in the mix. I guess the other guy would be Steph (Curry). Steph’s going to be back. He missed the other year with the Olympics, as much as he loves golf. I know he’s been working on his game a little bit, and he’ll be right there I’m sure.”
Joe Pavelski on if He’d Be Open to Maple Leafs Head Coaching Job in the Future