Leafs announce some changes behind the bench for this season
A few weeks after the Leafs were eliminated from the playoffs in the second round, they lost assistant coach Spencer Carbery to the Washington Capitals when he was named their new Head Coach. After interviewing a number of candidates for his vacant position, the Leafs announced today that they have made two additions to their coaching staff.
The Leafs have hired former Lightning head coach Guy Boucher and former Blues assistant coach Mike Van Ryn as assistant coaches on Sheldon Keefe's staff. Boucher coached Tampa from 2010-2013 and the Ottawa Senators from 2016-2019 and took each team to the Eastern Conference Final once. Van Ryn, who played 27 games for the Leafs in 2008-2009, joins the Leafs after spending the last half decade in St. Louis, where he helped coach the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2019. They will join a Leafs coaching staff that also includes Dean Chynoweth, Manny Malhotra and Curtis Sanford.
When asked about the hirings of Boucher and Van Ryn, Sheldon Keefe was very complimentary saying, "One of my goals every offseason is to put together the best staff possible to help give us the greatest opportunity for team success... I'm thrilled to add experienced and accomplished coaches like Guy and Mike, as well as how the roles and responsibilities will now be shared amongst our coaching staff moving forward."
With the coaching staff now complete, it would not be surprising if Keefe now signed an extension as he is entering the final year of his current contract.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 20 | 164 ANSWERS Leafs announce some changes behind the bench for this season How do you feel about the hirings of Mike Van Ryn and Guy Boucher? | ||
| I like both hires! | 68 | 41.5 % |
| Not too keen on either | 21 | 12.8 % |
| I'm willing to wait and see | 75 | 45.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
