The Toronto Maple Leafs have narrowed their coaching search, but the longer this drags on, the more interesting it gets.
If John Chayka wanted to hire one of the available coaches on the market, you would think something would already be done by now. There hasn’t exactly been a shortage of names. Patrick Roy, Jay Woodcroft, and Dallas Eakins are all out there, and there are even a few other options floating around. Yet Toronto continues to wait.
That’s where Bruce Cassidy comes into the conversation.
Cassidy seems like a match made in heaven for Toronto
Cassidy was let go by the Vegas Golden Knights late in the regular season, but it’s not as simple as just being available. He’s still under contract, which means teams need permission before they can even talk to him.
So far, that hasn’t exactly been easy. Reports suggested Vegas wasn’t quick to grant permission during the season, especially to the Edmonton Oilers, who were trying to hire him early in the offseason. Whether that changes now that the playoffs are wrapped up and Vegas was beaten by the Carolina Hurricanes. Or whether it makes a difference that it is the Maple Leafs, rather than the Oilers. Those are questions that still need to be answered.
From Cassidy’s side, there doesn’t seem to be much mystery. He’s spoken about the situation publicly, and it’s pretty clear he wants back behind an NHL bench sooner rather than later.
And it’s not hard to see why the Maple Leafs would be interested. Cassidy won a Stanley Cup with Vegas and took the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final. He has built a pretty strong reputation as one of the more reliable coaches in the league. You don’t really have to love his style to understand why he keeps getting looks.
Maybe Toronto ends up going in a completely different direction. Coaching searches have a way of doing that. But the longer they wait while experienced names are still out there, the harder it is not to wonder if they’re holding out for someone they can’t officially talk to yet. If that’s the case, Cassidy makes a lot of sense.
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