The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost another head coaching candidate to a rival club.
News broke on Monday that the LA Kings were set to hire Peter Laviolette as their next head coach. The reports from various insiders conclude what had been an extensive search by the West Coast club.
Edmonton and Toronto were also interested
As Elliotte Friedman noted, both the Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers had checked into Laviolette’s availability. In fact, on Sunday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Friedman discussed how he believed the Leafs were on the verge of hiring Laviolette.
However, that information changed, shifting towards an uncommon candidate, former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski.
Laviolette’s hiring in Los Angeles marks the second time this offseason that the Maple Leafs missed out on a person of interest. Earlier in the offseason, chatter suggested that Toronto had interest in now Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra.
The Maple Leafs, however, never really had a chance with Malhotra. The Canucks coach was earmarked for the vacancy in Vancouver from the beginning. So, it was just a matter of time before the Canucks formally inked him to lead the team.
Meanwhile, Toronto remains on the lookout for its next bench boss. Numerous names have made the rounds, though it’s doubtful there’s any real frontrunner at this point.
Maple Leafs Have Spoken with Over 50 Candidates
Another interesting bit of news Friedman shared with listeners was the fact that the Maple Leafs have spoken to around 55 candidates for the head coaching vacancy.
That’s a substantially high number of individuals, including Laviolette. Now, it’s unclear just how far conversations went between Laviolette and the Maple Leafs. There’s a pretty good chance that the veteran coach found himself needing to choose between Toronto and Los Angeles.
In the end, it’s safe to assume that the offer to coach in Los Angeles was much more readily available than the one in Toronto. That’s why it would make sense that the former New York Rangers bench boss decided to head to Tinseltown.
What to read next:
Fans Will Have to Wait Longer for Next Head Coach
All told, Maple Leafs fans will have to wait longer to find out who the club’s next head coach will be. There is no indication at this point regarding a timeline for a decision.
As Friedman pointed out, the Maple Leafs could be in the same situation as the Nashville Predators. The Preds took a long time to decide on their next GM, as they waited for the right time to pounce on their ideal candidate.
As such, the Maple Leafs could be in the same situation. The organization is doing its due diligence, but could be holding its breath for its ideal candidate to become available. If that’s the case, perhaps that ideal candidate is coaching a team in the AHL during the Calder Cup playoffs.
Perhaps there’s a contractual issue getting in the way. Although, it’s worth pointing out that there are no reports that the Leafs have reached out to Vegas about Bruce Cassidy. So, the safest answer at this point is that there is nothing to report, at least for now.
Maple Leafs Lose Another Coaching Candidate, This Time to Kings