Peter Horachek (2015)
Career Record: 35-64-9; Leafs Record: 9-28-5
Peter Horachek just took over as the interim head coach for the Leafs following the dismissal of Carlyle.
For a lost season, there wasn’t really much Horachek could do but to just help the team play out the rest of the season and hope for a better tomorrow in the new year.
With his limited experience, along with the Leafs going big-name hunting for a new coach, Horachek was relieved of his duties at the end of the season. Together with his 66-game coaching experience with the Florida Panthers in his previous season in 2013-24, that essentially concluded his NHL coaching career.
Mike Babcock (2015 – 2019)
Career Record: 700-418-164 with 19 ties; Leafs Record: 173-133-45
Perhaps one of the most decorated coaches to lead the Leafs during this part of the century, Mike Babcock certainly made his mark in bringing the Leafs back to prominence during his time here.
For someone that has always had his teams make the playoffs every season except for two, he was the perfect example of a true winner that the Leafs desperately needed.
Some of his methods that he implemented may have ended up crossing the line and created some controversy throughout his coaching career, but he did end up producing a winning product on the ice for Toronto starting from the 2016-17 season.
The Leafs would make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, which hadn’t happened since the early 2000s. However, a sub-par start to the 2019-20 season and an old-school style that is completely unacceptable in today's game would lead to his firing in November of 2019.
Nevertheless, with one Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal, a World Cup and World Hockey Championship all under his belt, he will always remain one of the best to ever coach in history of the game.