The Toronto Maple Leafs coaching search is heating up. Taking a quick break from his assignment at the IIHF World Hockey Championship, TSN hockey analyst Mike Johnson made a recent appearance on TSN's OverDrive to break down the top candidates to fill Toronto's high-profile vacancy.
While the Maple Leafs are in the beginning stages of sifting through the available candidates of this coaching cycle, Johnson turned heads by revealing the astronomical, shocking contract numbers it would take for new general manager John Chayka to land the hottest name on the market: University of Denver powerhouse David Carle.
If the Leafs want to entice the three-time NCAA champion away from his comfortable college empire, Johnson warns that the financial pitch will have to shatter typical NHL expectations.
TSN's Mike Johnson Breaks Down the Shocking Figures Needed for Carle
Johnson was asked by co-hosts Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLellan, and Jeff O'Neill about his criteria for the next Leafs' coach. He suggested Toronto go after someone younger, with an "offensive, puck-possession slant", who "empowers the players to play creatively" and "has experience being successful."
The color analyst's final criteria for his coaching choice was someone who "I don't need to convince to come to Toronto", someone who wants "the challenge and reward that would come with being successful in that market." Johnson then offered the names Jay Woodcroft and Carle as his two candidates that fit his description. The Leafs have reportedly interviewed both recently.
O'Neill then asked Johnson what the cost would be for each candidate. He proposed a four-year, $16 million number for Woodcroft. Then came the alarming numbers it might take to pry Carle away from Denver.
Johnson said a "premium" would be needed to convince Carle to leave Denver. He then revealed that a jaw-dropping six-year, $48 million offer might be required.
He argued that Carle turned down a $5-6 million per year offer from the Chicago Blackhawks last year. McLellan then added that Carle earns less than a million per year with Denver.
Johnson listed Carle's priorities of a young family, job security, and longevity as reasons for staying put and why a huge contract offer might be necessary for him to make the jump to the NHL with the Maple Leafs. Johnson's logic is that it would take Carle "fifty years" to earn what Toronto can give him over a much shorter time frame.
While an astronomical contract offer for an unproven NHL coach carries much risk, securing a premier talent like Carle might require a financial package that forces the Leafs' front office out of its comfort zone.
As the Maple Leafs coaching search intensifies, Toronto must decide if Carle's championship pedigree is worth the potentially historic, eye-popping numbers required to lure him away from the University of Denver.
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