There is a feeling of this being the final days of Craig Berube as the Maple Leafs’ head coach. Nothing has gone as planned this season and with a lineup card tailored to his style of play and the results not coming, he’s an easy target for a GM that is hoping that he can get one coaching change before the blame shifts to him. Toronto fired assistant coach Marc Savard on Monday, which may serve as a precursor for larger change.Arguably, the blame should be on Brad Treliving just as much and with his coach, but NHL tradition says coach first, then GM. And with Treliving likely on the hot seat as well (and arguably not the best option to see this team through the trade deadline), he too might find himself departing the organization in the near future.Given that it seems unlikely that the Leafs are going to want Treliving hiring their next permanent coach, and given that most organizations tend to want someone familiar with the team personnel if an in-seasond GM change is made, it seems reasonable to take a look at who the Leafs presently have as internal options for the head Coach and general Manager roles.Head Coach
Derek Lalonde is in many ways the obvious choice to replace Craig Berube on an interim basis. He’s a former head coach that was specifically brought in as a sounding board for Craig Berube on the big decisions and to a lesser extent make his case as the guy who the team would comfortably hand the reins over to if things went sour with Berube.
The thing is, Lalonde hasn’t stood out as a bright spot behind the Leafs bench. He’s helped keep the penalty kill afloat while the club has moved on from Mitch Marner and David Kampf, and lost some speed, so while his passive penalty kill approach isn’t enjoyable, it has been effective with the personnel the Leafs have to implement it.
Lalonde isn’t someone you’d want to see go beyond an interim head coach. And if anything, his success in the role would be to establish himself as the right hand man for the next guy or to make his case for another opening around the league.
John Gruden seems like the more intriguing internal option of the two potential front runners for an interim role. Gruden as the Marlies Head Coach comes with some experience leading a team within the organization and depending on what is expected for the Leafs down the stretch there might be some benefit to having someone familiar with Marlies personnel and how to use them to their fullest.
Gruden is someone who was getting looks at the NHL jobs before the Marlies had the opportunity to make him one of the highest paid AHL coaches and has the potential to be an emerging talent the Leafs should want to test.
His style of play still aligns with the personnel that Treliving has brought in for Craig Berube so there’s some benefit to continuity, at least in the short term.
Mike Van Ryn seems like he has the potential to be shown the door at the same time as Craig Berube and as such it’s hard to imagine the Leafs giving them more responsibility in the interim. And while Player Development personnel will likely supplement any coaching vacancies created at the assistant level, it doesn’t seem like that Hayley Wickenheiser or her staff (including Danielle Goyette, Jake Muzzin, Nik Antropov, Mark Giordano, etc.) will be the primary bench boss.
General Manager
Brandon Pridham is seemingly the heir apparent to Brad Treliving’s job assuming the Leafs don’t look externally to fill the role. Being Kyle Dubas’ right hand man for a number of years, being the cap/contract expert, his background in the draft and CBA, as well as being well known around the league all make him a prime candidate for any GM role, and given that he’s been in the Leafs front office for such an extended period, it is hard to imagine anyone knows more about what the team needs than he does. Giving him the big office and the responsibility that comes with it is his last hurdle and potentially gives the Leafs someone who can set a new direction while acknowledging where they are at today. If Pridham gets an interim look, the Leafs probably have the most capable way of getting them through the remainder of the season, but if the intention is to hire a different GM at the end of the season, that could be the end of Pridham’s time in Toronto. The best solution might be making Pridham the permanent GM and finding the right President of Hockey Operations to work with him.
If not Pridham, then who? The two names that also are worth considering are Derek Clancy, Hayley Wickenheiser and Ryan Hardy. Derek Clancy, like Pridham, seems like he will inevitably get his time running a club at some point, but hasn’t been as high profile within the organization or have the history that Pridham does.
Wickenheiser represents an opportunity to shake things up and go with someone who will ruthlessly pursue a championship while still doing a lot of on-the-job learning. Player Development is a different beast than a lot of other areas of hockey operations.
Ryan Hardy, as the Marlies boss, brings the experience of running the show at a lower level. Like Dubas, Hardy was seen as an up and comer and if the Leafs want fresh ideas, Hardy might be their guy. Of course, the Marlies lack of success over his run might count against him.
At the end of the day, it’s Pridham’s job to lose, assuming the Leafs are even ready to move on from Brad Treliving in season.
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