Insider provides an update on Leafs coaching search and Keefe's future
Photo credit: Sheldon Keefe
Elliotte Friedman reveals how far the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching search will go and how Sheldon Keefe's firing has caused chaos in the coaching market.
It didn't come as much of a surprise last week when the Leafs fired Sheldon Keefe after his fourth first-round exit in five seasons as the Leafs head coach. However, his firing did cause a considerable amount of chaos in the coaching market and forced teams to change their plans.
While the Leafs have begun their interview process to find his replacement, other teams have had to start their interview process all over again now that he is available. On today's '32 Thoughts' Friedman revealed that the his likely replacement has already spoke to the Leafs and that there may only be one other interview.
"Craig Berube was in Toronto on Saturday. He interviewed with the Maple Leafs on Saturday...We assume he (Todd McLellan) is interviewing Monday. We will see if this goes any deeper...There was a time I thought Berube was going to have an offer to coach the Devils. I'm not as certain about that now."
Prior to Keefe's firing, insiders like Friedman were reporting that the Leafs may not even have the opportunity to interview Berube as he was considered the front-runner for the Devils' vacant position. Now that Keefe is available however, the tables have turned and it is now Keefe who is the front-runner, while other teams are also looking to acquire his services according to Friedman.
"The Devils were serious about Berube... Ihad some people saying to me this week that Sheldon Keefe is a big factor in this job and that he has a legit chance at this job if he wants it. I do believe there have been a few teams to either ask the Leafs for permission to talk to him or gauge his interest. He is a legit person of interest in this year's coaching searches. Winnipeg, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to talk to Keefe...We'll see how this all plays out but Keefe is on New Jersey's radar for sure."
From Friedman's comments, it sounds like the Leafs could have a new head coach by as early as this week and Keefe could find himself with a new job in the coming weeks as well.
| POLL | ||
MAI 13 | 827 ANSWERS Insider provides an update on Leafs coaching search and Keefe's future Is Craig Berube an improvement over Sheldon Keefe? | ||
| Yes | 538 | 65.1 % |
| No | 289 | 34.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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