Sheldon Keefe reveals assignments for Leafs coaching staff this season
The Leafs showed some signs of life on Thursday morning, announcing a pair of hirings behind the bench in Guy Boucher and Mike Van Ryn to fill vacancies on Sheldon Keefe's coaching staff. While these weren't the two signings that Leafs Nation was waiting for and Matthews and Nylander remain without contract extensions in place, it was still business that needed to get done with the season right around the corner.
The original announcement from the Leafs did not specify what Boucher and Van Ryn's assignments would be for next season, but thankfully, Sports Illustrated's David Alter has since confirmed with Sheldon Keefe that Dean Chynoweth remains in control of the PK, while Boucher will run the powerplay, taking over for the departing Spencer Carbery. As for Van Ryn, the ex-NHL defenseman will run the team's D corps. Manny Malhotra remains with the team and will be the dedicated faceoff coach, but will shift from his role behind the bench to the "eye in the sky".
Boucher has made the Eastern Conference Finals twice in his career, once as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010-11 and once as head coach of the Ottawa Senators in 2016-17. He also won a championship with the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs as head coach back in 2008-09.
Van Ryn made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals as a rookie coach, winning a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues as an assistant coach in 2019. Van Ryn also ended his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing 27 games for the team back in 2008-09. The 44-year-old former NHL defenseman was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 1st round (26th overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.
