The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in a familiar spot. The Maple Leafs failed to advance past the first round again, losing to the rival Boston Bruins 2-1 in overtime in Game 7. It was the seventh time in the past eight seasons that Toronto failed to make it past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As a result, the Leafs relieved head coach Sheldon Keefe of his duties on Thursday morning.
Keefe is now the third head coach to be ousted by the Maple Leafs since 2014-15, when the franchise fired Randy Carlyle. Mike Babcock was brought in with hopes of returning Toronto to NHL glory. We all know how that worked out. Keefe would replace Babcock and be rid of the interim tag. He helped the Leafs get over the first-round hump last season with a series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Toronto would promptly be eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the second round. Overall, Keefe finishes his tenure in Toronto with a 212-97-40 record in the regular season while going 16-21 in the playoffs over five seasons.
So with Keefe out in Toronto, who will be brought in to try and get the Leafs past the second round?
Maple Leafs head coach candidates
Craig Berube
The former St. Louis Blues head coach had been linked to Toronto, seemingly waiting for this inevitable news to come down before making a choice on who to coach. The New Jersey Devils are also in on Berube, but it seems the Maple Leafs would have the edge to hire him. Berube feels like a good fit to whip Toronto into shape and playing a more physical style of hockey. In 2018-19, the Blues fired Mike Yeo after 19 games and named Berube his replacement. St. Louis would go on to win the Stanley Cup over the Bruins. Berube was let go by the Blues this season after a slow start. Despite that, he’s had plenty of success in a short period as head coach in the NHL.
Gerard Gallant
Gallant is similar to Berube in that he’s a proven NHL head coach who would come in and bring some edge and toughness. Gallant most recently coached the New York Rangers, but was fired after a first-round exit last season. New York revamped the roster and is looking pretty good so far these playoffs. People will point to Gallant being not so popular with his players. After advancing to the Cup Final in 2017-18 with the first-year Vegas Golden Knights, he was run out of town after the next two seasons. After bringing the Rangers to the East Final in 2022, he was run out of town a season later. Gallant has had a ton of success in his past five seasons coaching but was let go anyway. If he were to be hired, it may not go over well with fans or media. But he gets results and has gotten teams further than the Leafs twice in the past five years.
Todd McLellan
McLellan is another good coach who was fired mid-season in 2023-24. The Los Angeles Kings replaced McLellan with Jim Hiller mid-season despite going 23-15-10 through the first half of the regular season. McLellan isn’t the one who traded for Pierre-Luc Dubois and shelled out an awful contract. McLellan had gotten the Kings to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons but failed to get past the first round. Still, he wasn’t working with much and had two aging stars in Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, plus journeymen goaltenders. McLellan’s best stint as an NHL head coach came with the San Jose Sharks, but he was never able to get the team over the hump. McLellan is a good, well-respected head coach but would be a weaker option vs. Berube and Gallant.
Rod Brind’Amour
This is a pipe dream but it’s the Maple Leafs. Toronto is the center of hockey in Canada and perhaps the chance to return the Leafs to glory is appealing to Brind’Amour, the current coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. It feels insane to think Brind’Amour would leave the team he helped win a Stanley Cup back in 2005-06. Carolina has a roster built to compete for a long time. With that said, while the ‘Canes have been great, they also have done a lot of losing in the playoffs. Carolina has failed to get to the Cup Final despite having the team to do so the past six seasons under Brind’Amour. Maybe he feels capped out a bit? Is Toronto the right place for him to get to the Cup? It’s unclear but the Maple Leafs’ core of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner is very appealing.
Bruce Boudreau
We’re seeing Boudreau’s name get thrown around so tack him onto the list. Boudreau feels similar to the first three head coaches mentioned above. Like McLellan, Boudreau was never able to get over the hump with all the teams he coached. With the Washington Capitals, Boudreau finished first in the division four straight seasons and won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2009-10. He did a lot of the same while with the Anaheim Ducks but failed to make it to the Cup Final. Boudreau is a very good coach but this hire would feel like hoping to trick the God’s in a way.
