RUMOR: Patrick Roy among the finalists in Toronto

The Maple Leafs, the Oilers, and the Golden Knights are the three teams that have yet to announce their head coaches for the upcoming season.

In Vegas, John Tortorella is currently in charge, and Ryan Craig (who coaches the Golden Knights' farm team) appears to be the man who will replace him if Torts were to leave in the coming days.

In Edmonton… everyone knows what's going on. #MikeBabcock

What this means is that the Maple Leafs are currently the only NHL team in the midst of a formal, traditional process to find a head coach.

They can take their time. And as Pierre LeBrun said on the Oilers Now show, this might push them to wait until the Stanley Cup is over, to see if Bruce Cassidy might become available for interviews once the finals are finished.

But unless Cassidy becomes available, there would be only about five people left in the process (which has been exhaustive) in Toronto. John Chayka and Mats Sundin would be conducting in-person interviews.

According to what LeBrun told Bob Stauffer (Oilers Now), Joe Pavelski is in the mix.

As for the rest, it's not certain, but he still believes Jay Woodcroft and Patrick Roy are in the mix. It's not certain… but certain enough to name the guys publicly.

So there's a good chance he's right.

Considering that the Maple Leafs have interviewed more than twenty people, we can assume that Patrick Roy is one of the finalists for the job in Toronto.

This is definitely a story to follow, in any case. After all, right now, this seems to be Patrick Roy's only chance to return to the NHL immediately.

overtime

Oh, by the way: the fact that Habs fans aren't crying “betrayal” (Toronto remains the enemy) shows just how much they still love the club's former goalie.

Just like when Guy Lafleur went to finish his career in Quebec City…