While the talk all season in Toronto was about when – not if – Mike Babcock would leave Detroit to become the next head coach of the Maple Leafs, that hasn’t happened yet and there haven’t been any indications from either side that such a move is imminent either.
Now into the second month of their offseason, Toronto’s brain trust have a wealth of proven options to sift through in addition to holding out hope that Babcock decides to leave Hockeytown USA and head to the epicenter of everything next season, including former Penguins boss Dan Bylsma, Dave Tippett, former Babcock underling Todd McLellan and Peter DeBoer.
As of right now, however, the name in the news is that of ex-Tampa Bay Lightning leader Guy Boucher, currently the head coach for SC Bern in the Swiss League. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger suggested Tuesday on Twitter that the Leafs were believed to have made contact after Boucher told TSN 1050’s Dave Naylor that an NHL team has been in touch to assess his interest on returning to coach in the league again.
Leafs still looking at gm + coaching options. It's believed Tor contacted Guy Boucher. Boucher told TSN 1050 an NHL team had made contact.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) May 6, 2015Boucher was behind the bench for the Lightning for two seasons and change, leading Tampa Bay to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in his rookie year before missing the playoffs in his sophomore season. He was let go 31 games into the 2012-13 season after the team started 13-17-1. Prior to that, he led the Montreal Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Hamilton.
While Boucher said all the right things about a possible return to the NHL – “right situation, right people… good situation now…” – most coaches crave the opportunity to try their hand at the highest level and those that have had a taste and a reasonable amount of success (97-78-20 in two-plus seasons in Tampa) tend to want a second chance even more.
And Boucher would be a very good choice for what is sure to be a young Toronto team in the 2015-16 season.
The Bolts team Boucher led to within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals wasn’t laden with marquee talent – it featured Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, a declining Vincent Lecavalier and veteran Dwayne Roloson between the pipes. Outside of that group, Teddy Purcell turned in a solid rookie season and Boucher coaxed quality contributions out of guys like Dominic Moore, Steve Downie and Sean Bergenheim while playing well in the defensive end and getting timely goaltending.
Toronto is going to be in a similar position next year, minute a sniper like Stamkos of course. They’ll be counting on a couple key players to have big years while looking to some of the lesser known kids or journeyman that jump on board to chip in with 8-10-12 goals and solid two-way play. And, Boucher doesn’t appear to be the kind of guy that is going to get caught up in the celebrity of being the “Head Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs” and the constant media attention that comes along with it. Often described as “fiery,” he seems more likely to have a standoffish relationship with the local press because his focus will be on improving the product on the ice, not indulging in the back-and-forth that often becomes the bigger story in the ravenous hockey market and media hub.
All too often, the Leafs have turned to an established coach that has made a handful of previous stops along the way in situations like this – Ron Wilson was three teams and 15 years into his coaching career before hitting Toronto and Randy Carlyle was coming off four disappointing years in Anaheim before getting the job with the Leafs. Recycling a coach that has made three or four stops and had chances with quality teams in the past isn’t the direction this team should head – they need someone that is both patient and hungry, eager to prove their either capable of doing more than they managed in a previous stop (Peter DeBoer, Chicago Wolves head coach John Anderson) or a first-time man that you give a chance like former NHL’ers Travis Green or Rob Zettler, both of whom played in Toronto briefly and who currently in the AHL.
Even if the former leader of the Lightning doesn’t end up being the choice, the fact that Toronto is looking to coaches with a few less miles on their tires is a step in the right direction.
