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Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant Coach Leaving After Season

By Stephen Nixon |
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 02: Assistant Coaches Dave Hakstol, Paul McFarland and Head Coach Mike Babcock of the Toronto Maple Leafs look on from the bench prior to an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on October 2, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 02: Assistant Coaches Dave Hakstol, Paul McFarland and Head Coach Mike Babcock of the Toronto Maple Leafs look on from the bench prior to an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena on October 2, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

After this season, current assistant coach Paul McFarland will be leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs and joining the Kingston Frontenacs as their new head coach.

McFarland’s name may not be as familiar to fans, as has only been with the Toronto Maple Leafs for one season.

Prior to joining the Leafs, McFarland was an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers and was said to be instrumental in the team’s success on the power-play.

The Panthers were second in the NHL scoring on 26.8 percent of their power-play’s, right behind the Presidents’ Trophy winning Tampa Bay Lightning.

For a team with immense offensive talent led by Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Morgan Rielly, the Toronto Maple Leafs power-play didn’t live up to maximum potential in the last full season under Babcock.

They finished eighth in power-play percentage last year, so the acquisition of McFarland was seen as an opportunity to improve on that this season.

The team has improved and is currently sixth league-wide in power-play percentage, as well as being second since Sheldon Keefe took over, only falling out of first in the last week of the season before the break.

The addition of McFarland will be a welcome-sight for Frontenacs fans, as this will be his second head coaching stint, having previously been with the team as recently as 2016.

https://twitter.com/KingstonFronts/status/1258788809694752769?s=20

In article with The Canadian Press, Sheldon Keefe shared a statement about McFarland’s decision:

“Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach.”

McFarland was also quoted in that article with a statement of his own:

“Ultimately, I made this decision for my own development as a head coach and I am honored and excited about the opportunity to help develop an exciting group of young players in Kingston. I still remain 100 per cent committed to the Maple Leafs organization, its staff and the players for the remainder of the 2019-20 NHL season and Stanley Cup playoffs.”

McFarland will hope to improve on his career 111-71-22 record with the Frontenacs when he joins the team next season.

The Frontenacs had a well-below .500 season this year, despite having immense offensive talent.

Shane Wright, who is only one of five players to be given exceptional status into the Ontario Hockey League is already a leader in Kingston and McFarland must be excited to work with him.

Wright had 39 goals this season and is on his way to becoming the number-one overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

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Although an NHL assistant coaching job is a highly touted position, the opportunity to work with someone like Wright and lead a young team to a championship is hard to resist, so best of luck to McFarland on his next journey.

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