Getty

The Toronto Maple Leafs could have had a shot at Bruce Cassidy, but didn't even take it, as one insider purports.

The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly turned a few heads by announcing the hiring of Jim Hiller as the team’s next head coach. As the dust settles and information trickles in, the rationale behind the move seems to point towards Hiller being a “safe” hire. His familiarity with the current core could have well been the factor that put the 57-year-old over the top.

That said, insider Pierre LeBrun noted in a recent piece in The Athletic that the Maple Leafs could have had a shot at Bruce Cassidy. However, it seems the organization didn’t even take it.

In the piece, LeBrun pointed out that Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon stated that the team had allowed one club to speak with Cassidy. While McCrimmon didn’t name the team in question, LeBrun suspects it was the Maple Leafs.

“Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon revealed to local media on Wednesday that the Golden Knights gave permission to Cassidy to speak with one team midway through the playoffs. I think that team was Toronto, but I know for a fact that the Maple Leafs and Cassidy never did speak, so they must have chosen not to have the conversation for some reason.”

Let’s assume that the team was Toronto. Why on Earth would the Maple Leafs pass on the opportunity to at least talk to Cassidy?

The simplest answer would be that the Leafs reached out to Cassidy’s agent and were met with a resounding no.

But then again, there are no more options out there for Cassidy. The Edmonton Oilers seem hellbent on Mike Babcock, with Toronto being the last coaching vacancy available.

Maple Leafs Settled for Hiller

There’s little doubt that money was the issue. Even if Cassidy makes $5 million a year, that’s not something that would have precluded the Maple Leafs from bringing the Stanley Cup-winning coach into the fold.

But it seems that Toronto settled on Hiller. If anything, it almost seems as if the organization chickened out, taking more of a secure path in Hiller. However, the former LA Kings’ bench boss does not have the sort of track record that screams playoff performance and consistent winner.

Perhaps there was another issue at play here?

What to read next:

Could Players Have Tipped the Scales in Favor of Hiller?

More than ever, organizations have given players input into coaching decisions. It makes sense. After all, when a team has superstars teetering on the brink of free agency, there is an inclination to cow towards their demands.

That would be the case of Auston Matthews. Could the Maple Leafs captain have had a hand in tipping the scales?

Logic would dictate that to be the case. There is little doubt that the organization wouldn’t have at least kept the idea of appeasing Matthews in the back of their minds when making this decision.

Perhaps the club took the idea of hiring Cassidy to Matthews’ camp, and William Nylander’s, for that matter, and came away with a sense that the former Golden Knights bench boss would be an unpopular choice.

In the end, the Leafs weren’t looking to rock the boat. They settled on Hiller, and it seems that will be the direction the organization will live and die by.