5 Maple Leafs coaching options after team fires Craig Berube

The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Craig Berube after just two seasons with the club in which he went 84-62-18 and made the second round of the playoffs in his first season.

Toronto missed the playoffs this past season, however, and enacted a regime change atop hockey operations. That means a controversial new general manager in John Chayka and a new coach on the horizon.

The Leafs hold the top 2026 NHL Draft pick and have superstar center Auston Matthews on the roster, but Toronto's rotten recent playoff history will make this a tough job. However, wins cure everything.

Let's run through a few candidates who make sense for the Toronto job.

Bruce Cassidy

The former Vegas Golden Knights coach won a Stanley Cup in this decade (2023) and regularly made the playoffs during his time leading the Boston Bruins. If Toronto wants a proven winner, Cassidy is one of the best available.

Peter Laviolette

Laviolette is the king of fast starts. He's taken three teams to the Stanley Cup finals early into his coaching stints, even if the results tend to taper out wherever he goes. However, he knows how to win quickly. Toronto could be allured by his penchant to capture lightning in a bottle quickly as it tries to shake off its playoff blues.

Jim Hiller

Hiller's brief stint coaching the Los Angeles Kings (93-58-24) doesn't look half bad in retrospect. If the Leafs want someone with recent coaching experience who can arguably grow in the job, Hiller might be a solid fit.