The Leafs may have identified one potential candidate to replace Steve Briere as the team's Goalie Coach
The Toronto Maple Leafs made a lot of fans happy when they finally ejected goalie coach Steve Briere from the organization and pledged to overhaul the whole goaltending department this summer.
It looks as though the Leafs will be ridding themselves of more than just some familiar faces in the goaltending department though, as the on-ice personnel appears to be changing as well. Here were are a week out from the draft and 2 weeks out from free agency, and the Leafs have yet to have any meaningful dialogue with Jack Campbell or extend the 30-year-old a contract offer. Add to that the fact that the reports out of Toronto last month suggested they had no intentions of bringing back Mrazek to fulfill the rest of his deal with the Leafs and it's looking increasingly likely that there will be all sorts of new faces to become accustomed to this season.
One potential target, according to NHL Insider Kevin Weekes, could be Oilers Goalie Development Coach Sylvain Rodrigue, who is drawing plenty of interest around the league. Keep in mind, Rodrigue is not the Oilers' goalie coach, he's simply their development guy, so he'd have more to do with the prospects in the system, such as 23-year-old Stuart Skinner, than he would with more established guys like Mikko Koskinen (European free agent) and Mike Smith (long-time NHLer).
Rodrigue has been with the Oilers since the 2015-16 season, spending most of his time with the big club, but also spending parts of 2 seasons helping Skinner round out his game with the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. He has done a marvelous job in that department, as just two seasons ago, Skinner was a sub .900 goaltender who saw himself demoted to the ECHL. Skinner had a massive bounce back year in 2020-21, posting a 20-9-1 record to go along with a .914 sv% in 31 games. His 2021-22 season was more improved still, as Skinner compiled an impressive 22-7-5 record with a .920 sv% and a 2.21 GAA in 35 appearances for the Condors.
Obviously, the Leafs are not the only team who is looking for a goalie coach, as Weekes mentioned Seattle and Detroit as some other potential options for Rodrigue, should he decide to attempt to take the next step in his career.
Rodrigue, 49, has never worked for another NHL organization outside of Edmonton. He could be looking to move on and move up and the Leafs are one team who can provide him with the unique opportunity of joining an original six franchise and the chance to show what he can do in one of the biggest markets in the entire league.
