As the Toronto Maple Leafs play out the remainder of their 2025-26 NHL season, they can expect an offseason ahead that will be full of changes. After all, with the Maple Leafs headed towards their first losing season in over a decade, they will need to right the ship as quick as possible before they potentially fall apart even further. To do so, Toronto will likely need some personnel change both on and off the ice.
Head coach Craig Berube took over a Maple Leafs winning team last season and led them to their first division title in four years while reaching the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, one year later, Berube and the Leafs find themselves struggling to even contend for a playoff spot and are in trouble to finish in the bottom echelon of the league. With many wondering if he will be the right one to lead the Leafs through their quick retool or even potential rebuild, what ideal candidates could be available to replace Berube as the head coach for Toronto going forward?
Peter Laviolette
As the seventh-winningest coach of all time with 846 career victories, Peter Laviolette is perhaps one of the top candidates not currently employed in the NHL at this moment. Having previously led various teams in the Eastern Conference including the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, Laviolette brings with him familiarity and plenty of experience coaching within the conference. In his 23 years as head coach, he has helped his respective clubs to 14 playoff appearances, including reaching the Stanley Cup finals on three different occasions, winning it all in 2006 with the Hurricanes.
More noteworthy is the fact that the last three years in which his team was eliminated in the playoff, it came at the hands of either the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers, foes that the Maple Leafs are certainly quite familiar with. As a result, it could give Laviolette that added fire to lead Toronto past those teams for potential future postseason success.
John Tortorella
What better way to get this Maple Leafs team going than by recruiting perhaps one of the most animated and entertaining coach in NHL history in John Tortorella. If any Leafs players were ever to not put their full effort into each and every game, Tortorella will be there to let them know it. Not only that, the 67-year-old former NHL coach has a strong proven track record, ranking ninth overall on the all-time wins list for head coaches with 770.Â
Similar to Laviolette above, Tortorella had been quite successful in leading his clubs to the postseason, with 12 career playoff appearances over his 23 years as head coach. And just like Laviolette, Tortorella also has one Stanley Cup win under his belt, in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, so he definitely knows how to get it done at the highest level. More importantly, the 67-year-old veteran will never shy away from the media and should be able to handle the intense media attention that usually follows the Maple Leafs team.
Bruce Boudreau
Finally, the sentimental favourite to take over the reigns for Toronto would be none other than Bruce Boudreau. As a former Maple Leaf back in his playing days, Boudreau has proven to be a true leader as a head coach with a career 617-342-128 record in over 1087 career games behind the bench. In addition, he may be even more successful than the two candidates above in taking his clubs to the playoffs with 10 of his 16 teams that he has coached making the postseason. However, one thing that Boudreau might be lacking is the fact that he has never led any of them to a Stanley Cup final berth.
Nevertheless, he had previously expressed the desire to join the coaching staff of the Maple Leafs in any capacity possible. As a result, this could be the best moment to bring in the candidate with the most passion and heart for the team in Boudreau to give the squad that motivational and emotional boost to get Toronto back on track. He may not have made enough significant contributions to the Leafs back during his time as a player, but he certainly can be the potential difference maker as a coach if Toronto can make it happen.