When the music stops, who will be the next bench boss of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Depending on the results of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there could be as many as a dozen NHL head coaching positions available this summer and some of the coaches currently with jobs could be filling vacancies in different cities.
That appears to be one reason for the mutual parting of the ways between Todd McLellan and the San Jose Sharks on Monday, so that he can start fielding offers from a variety of teams before departing for Europe to coach Team Canada in the upcoming IIHF World Championships.
McLellan has the jump on former boss Mike Babcock, who cannot test the waters as long as his Detroit Red Wings are still active. Most teams(including Toronto) who may have interest in both coaches will want to talk to both, but with so many jobs out there, the bigger names will have their choice of where they want to go and that does not bode well for the Leafs, who are just entering a major reorganization of their roster and management structure.
NHL Coach List Atlantic Florida---Gallant Montreal---Therrien Ottawa---Cameron Tampa Bay---Cooper Boston---Julien?? Detroit---Babcock?? Toronto---Vacancy Buffalo---Vacancy Metropolitian Rangers---Vigneault Islanders---Capuano Carolina---Peters Columbus---Richards Pittsburgh---Johnston?? Devils---Vacancy Philly---Vacancy Central Chicago---Quenneville Minnesota---Yeo Winnipeg---Maurice Colorado---Roy Dallas---Ruff Nashville---Laviolette St. Louis---Hitchcock?? Pacific Calgary---Hartley Los Angeles---Sutter Vancouver---Desjardins Anaheim---Boudreau?? Arizona---Tippett?? Edmonton---Nelson?? San Jose---Vacancy Currently there are five open coaching positions: Buffalo, Toronto, New Jersey, Philadelphia and San Jose. Babcock's status in Detroit is up in the air until he decides whether he wants a change of scenery or to stay where he has been for the last decade. Claude Julien's tenure in Boston is tenuous in the wake of GM Peter Chiarelli's dismissal last week.
Things appear to be unraveling in Pittsburgh and a complete house cleaning, including GM Jim Rutherford and first year coach Mike Johnston could be in order for the second time in 12 months if the Pens meekly bow out to the NY Rangers, while time may be running out on Ken Hitchcock in St. Louis if the Blues make another first round exit.
If Anaheim finishes off Winnipeg and gets to the Conference Final, Bruce Boudreau's job may be safe. The addition of Bob Nicholson as the new Oilers CEO and getting Connor McDavid may have Edmonton looking for a coach with a proven track record instead of neophyte Todd Nelson, who did a good job after replacing Dallas Eakins.
While Dave Tippett has term left on his deal in Arizona, but there have been rumors that he is not enamored with the prospect of going through a rebuilding process in the Valley of the Sun.
Jobs in Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and perhaps Philadelphia offer opportunities to contend right away, while Edmonton and Buffalo have oodles of young talent to work with and mold into winners in a couple years.
The concern for Toronto Team President Brendan Shanahan is while he can use the MLSE checkbook to offer big money and even offer a coach significant input in putting the team together, he cannot offer them the chance to win right away and that might make landing a top tier bench boss nearly impossible.
What this means is that Babcock or McLellan are long shots and that more likely candidates for the Leafs could be transitional coaches like Peter DeBoer or Dale Hunter.
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