Now that the Stanley Cup Final is officially in the books, the only team not looking ahead to the offseason is the Carolina Hurricanes. The Canes will be celebrating their victory for the next couple of days, and deservedly so.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, the offseason began about two months ago. And one of the major items remaining on the docket is finding a new coach. The Leafs have reportedly interviewed just about anyone who could fill the role, with no solid candidate in place.
While there has been some chatter about the organization potentially having a name in place this week, there is nothing certain.
But it could be that the Leafs were just biding their time for John Tortorella to become available. The talk out of Vegas is that “Torts” was just a stopgap for the remainder of this season. He’ll be on the books until June 30, and there’s a growing sense that plenty of teams will come calling.
In fact, as Jason Gregor noted, the Golden Knights will be looking to promote Ryan Craig from Vegas’ AHL affiliate to take over the main job in the NHL.
The one interesting rumour that hasn't gone away is that Vegas will promote Ryan Craig from Henderson to Vegas as their head coach next year. Tortorella was only signed to end of this season. Seems crazy that he might not return, but Vegas always done it their way.
— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) June 15, 2026
That was a sentiment that Elliotte Friedman echoed in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. If the Golden Knights are serious about bringing in someone else in place of Tortorella, there is no question that the Leafs and Edmonton Oilers will kick the tires on the veteran coach.
As Friedman noted, the sense is that Tortorella wants to continue coaching. So, if there's a multi-year opportunity waiting for him in Toronto, that's something the Stanley Cup-winning bench boss would certainly consider.
Tortorella fits purported Maple Leafs plan
One of the theories going around is that the Maple Leafs want an experienced coach to offset the relative inexperience in the front office. While this isn’t John Chayka’s first NHL rodeo, Mats Sundin hasn’t really ever been an executive.
As such, the organization is purported to want a coach who’s been around the block a few times. If that’s the calculus, Tortorella certainly fits the mold. He’s a highly experienced coach who could run things without needing adult supervision.
In fact, Torts is the sort of coach that can actually provide meaningful feedback to the front office. And while he’s not the sort of analytics-driven stat-freak that the organization seems to want, Torts has proven he’s still a winner.
As for what it will take to land Tortorella, the Maple Leafs can just open up their checkbook. Paying him won’t be an issue. If Vegas is serious about not wanting him back next season, the worst thing will be having to wait until July 1 to sign him.
Leafs fans should anticipate chatter about requesting permission to speak with him ahead of July 1, potentially leading to a handshake deal at some point.
That’s a major if, of course, as the Golden Knights could just bring Torts back next season.
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