The Toronto Maple Leafs parted ways with Craig Berube back on May 13th and have not yet named his successor. We know that GM John Chayka is exercising patience when it comes to selecting a new bench boss in Toronto, but, unfortunately, that patient approach has led to the club missing out on one of the top available names out there in Peter Laviolette.
Laviolette Headed West to Join the Kings
According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun on Monday, the Los Angeles Kings took their big swing and have landed Laviolette.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Peter Laviolette is being hired as the next head coach of the LA Kings.</p>— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) <a href="https://x.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/2064050825551335552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Laviolette was once believed to be one of the prime candidates to land the Leafs' coaching job, should he have a keen interest in coming to Toronto. Obviously, Laviolette either did not wish to come to Canada's Hockey Mecca, or he simply did not wish to wait any longer and risk missing out on any other opportunities.
Leafs Originally Set to Hire Laviolette
This turn of events is actually quite surprising, as Nick Kypreos had reported on Friday that Laviolette was earmarked to be the next coach in Toronto. He insinuated on Sportsnet 590 The FAN this evening that the Kings may have caught wind of his imminent hire and put together a quick offer that Laviolette couldn't refuse.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Peter Laviolette was reportedly set to become the Maple Leafs’ head coach as of last Friday, per <a href="https://x.com/RealKyper?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realkyper</a>. 😳<br><br>“I was told on Friday that Laviolette was going to be the next coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs… he was spotted in town, and I would imagine that L.A. did some fast… <a href="https://t.co/97nwEVt97y">pic.twitter.com/97nwEVt97y</a></p>— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) <a href="https://x.com/Leafslatest/status/2064079519917486491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
What Does This Mean for the Maple Leafs?
With Laviolette officially off the market, the Leafs still have some interesting candidates available to them. LeBrun named Joe Pavelski, Jay Woodcroft and Patrick Roy as three of the five leading candidates to lock down the head coaching job with the Maple Leafs.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lebrun adds that Patrick Roy and Jay Woodcroft are still in the process for the vacancy<a href="https://x.com/hashtag/LeafsForever?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LeafsForever</a> <a href="https://t.co/XmQasTfuYZ">https://t.co/XmQasTfuYZ</a></p>— Maple Leafs News (@budsallday34) <a href="https://x.com/budsallday34/status/2064089203659468807?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Bruce Cassidy is another name who remains out there, but at this point, it does not appear as though he is a realistic option in Toronto. Things can definitely change at any moment, though.