Maple Leafs Quick Hits: Chayka's Coach, Mixed Visions & Early Favourites
One thing we’ve slowly come to believe over the years, watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, is this: general managers and coaches need to see the game the same way. If they don’t, the clock is already ticking before the relationship even starts.
That’s one reason we’re on the side that thinks the Maple Leafs probably did the right thing moving on from Craig Berube sooner rather than later. Berube may be a perfectly good coach. In fact, he probably is. But if John Chayka is going to reshape the organization philosophically, it makes little sense to tie him to a coach he didn’t choose himself. Hockey history is full of situations where the coach and GM never fully shared the same vision, and eventually the whole thing unravelled anyway.
Quick Hit One: The Maple Leafs Have Been Here Before.
The Maple Leafs have almost made a habit of this over the years. Brian Burke inherited Ron Wilson. Dave Nonis inherited Randy Carlyle. Kyle Dubas inherited Mike Babcock, and that relationship famously never looked comfortable. Then Brad Treliving inherited Sheldon Keefe. Again and again, you had situations where the front office and the coach seemed to be speaking slightly different hockey languages.
Sometimes teams convince themselves that it can work. And occasionally it does for a little while. But long term? Usually not.
A new GM almost always reaches a point where he wants his own voice behind the bench. It’s human nature as much as hockey strategy. If you’re the person being judged on the direction of the franchise, you naturally want somebody beside you who sees the game through a similar lens.
Quick Hit Two: Has the Coaching Search Already Been Decided?
That’s what makes this coaching search interesting. Chayka says there will be a broad, extensive search, and we’re sure there will be interviews and conversations with many candidates. But honestly, we wouldn’t be shocked if he already has a pretty good idea what kind of coach he wants. Organizations almost always know more internally than they let on publicly.
The interesting names floating around right now are Bruce Cassidy, Jay Woodcroft, Manny Malhotra, and, as of this morning, Kris Knoblauch. Cassidy feels like the least likely fit for us. He’s established, experienced, and will probably have multiple opportunities elsewhere. The Maple Leafs may also be moving toward a younger, more collaborative leadership structure.
That’s why Woodcroft and Malhotra feel more realistic. Both are younger. Both are from Toronto. Both feel more aligned with where modern hockey is heading. But if we were guessing early? Woodcroft might make the most sense. His stronger embrace of analytics feels philosophically closer to where Chayka probably wants to take the organization.
Will the Maple Leafs be pulling in the same direction when the season begins?
And after years of mixed messages between management and coaches, maybe the Maple Leafs are finally trying to get everybody pulling in the same direction.
{I’d like to thank Stan Smith for his thoughts that helped focus this post.}