Toronto Maple Leafs coaching search split between two paths but announcement expected shortly
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Toronto is running two parallel coaching searches at once, and only one of them can end well.
Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday on the FAN Morning Show that final interviews for the Toronto Maple Leafs head coaching vacancy are taking place this week, including both yesterday and today.
That framing suggests a decision is imminent. But Nick Kypreos said on Real Kyper and Bourne that there is a growing sense inside the league that Toronto may actually be waiting for Bruce Cassidy.
Those two reports don't reconcile easily, and that tension reveals where Toronto actually stands.
Seravalli says the search is closing, while Kypreos says the Leafs are holding the door open for a coach they are not yet permitted to contact.
The Cassidy problem nobody has solved
Cassidy was fired by the Vegas Golden Knights in March and replaced by John Tortorella, but Vegas still controls his rights with one year remaining on his deal.
The Golden Knights have declined to grant other teams permission to interview him, making him officially off-limits despite his interest in returning to coaching.
Nick Kypreos has previously reported that Vegas would likely be open to Cassidy speaking with an Eastern Conference team, which theoretically creates a path to Toronto.
But that permission has not been granted, and there is no indication it is coming soon.
GM John Chayka has spoken to more than 50 candidates. Per Darren Dreger, Jay Woodcroft, Patrick Roy, Dallas Eakins, and Joe Pavelski are among the confirmed finalists, with final in-person interviews now underway.
What running two timelines at once actually costs
If Chayka is interviewing finalists while leaving the Cassidy window open, every candidate in those rooms is potentially being evaluated as a backup plan.
The coach who gets hired under those conditions enters the job already framed as a consolation prize.
For a franchise trying to rebuild its identity after a 32-36-14 season, that is a problem that feels invisible now but will define this hire for years.
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