Joe Pavelski is on the Maple Leafs’ radar as a head coach

Mathis Therrien
Joe Pavelski is on the Maple Leafs’ radar as a head coach
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a major shake-up of their staff at the end of their disastrous 2025–2026 season.

They fired their general manager, Brad Treliving, much to Kent Hughes' dismay, while also firing their head coach, Craig Berube.

Treliving has already been controversially replaced by John Chayka, but the head coaching position remains vacant.

The Maple Leafs have interviewed several candidates, including Patrick Roy, who performed well, in an effort to find the best fit.

Well, after seeing several familiar names circulate, a very surprising name has just been added to the list of candidates.

In fact, the Maple Leafs reportedly have a certain Joe Pavelski on their radar.

That's what Elliotte Friedman claimed during a recent episode of his podcast 32 Thoughts, saying he'd heard from multiple sources that the Leafs wanted to interview Joe Pavelski.

It comes a bit out of the blue, but it's really very interesting.

Pavelski retired at the end of the 2023-2024 season, bringing an end to an incredible 18-year career that is likely to earn him a spot in the Hall of Fame.

The former San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars player has been coaching his 15-year-old son, Nate, at the junior level with the Madison Capitals in Wisconsin.

This really resembles Martin St-Louis's experience before he became head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Are the Maple Leafs trying to take a cue from the Habs in hiring their head coach?

Let's see how this plays out, but according to Friedman's sources, Pavelski wouldn't be at all opposed to the idea.


In a Nutshell

– Absolutely crazy.

– It's going to be awesome!

– Wow.

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