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John Tortorella Golden Knights
The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting closer to making a decision on who their new head coach will be for next season after general manager John Chayka decided to go in a different direction by letting go of former bench boss Craig Berube following a disappointing year.
Toronto have been shortening their list of candidates with a diverse group that has been under consideration for the position. Management has looked at both experienced coaches and fresh faces throughout this process. There could be a late addition to the party for the Maple Leafs front office to consider here.
John Tortorella is Available
The Vegas Golden Knights announced today that John Tortorella will not be back with the team. Insider Elliotte Friedman believes that Tortorella could be an option for Toronto. Friedman also cited on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Edmonton Oilers are a team that could additionally be in on the veteran coach’s services.
Tortorella returned to the league towards the end of the year this past season after taking over for former Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. Tortorella is coming off of a strong postseason run where he took his team all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. His squad came up short for Lord Stanley versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Nevertheless, Tortorella showed he can still be a successful coach in the NHL during this stint.
It is surprising to see that Tortorella will be on the coaching market this summer after the run he just had in Vegas. With that said, his deal with the club was an effective interim role for the remainder of this season. The signs point to the Golden Knights bringing aboard Ryan Craig to take over for next year via Friedman. Craig works within the organization as he is the coach of their AHL affiliate team in Henderson.
Tortorella May be the Guy Toronto Needs
The question is does Tortorella make sense for Toronto? It depends on what route the franchise wants to take with this new front office. Tortorella is a coach that is logical to target for a group in contention. For a rebuilding team, he is likely not a guy to take a look at.
If Chayka thinks his Maple Leafs team can engineer a fast retool and return to the postseason as soon as next season, Tortorella should be up for consideration. He has a plethora of playoff experience and a Stanley Cup ring on his resume. For a Maple Leafs team that has often struggled down the stretch, Tortorella may be the coach that could change that.
However, there is the argument that Tortorella may not be much different than what Toronto just had in Berube. This is another coach who has won a lot, but also been around for a long time. The Maple Leafs may want to try something unique for this core and go for a younger hire instead. It will be interesting to see what coaching philosophy Chayka chooses to go with this offseason.
Justin Lynch Justin Lynch is a Heavy Sports writer who specializes in NHL coverage. He is also a Chicago Blackhawks contributing writer for FanSided after having previously written for The Sporting News. After spending a year working with Chicago Hockey Radio, he now covers Blackhawks/NHL content on his own personnel YouTube channel and across various social media platforms. Justin has consumed the sport of hockey his whole life; it is his number one passion. More about Justin Lynch