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Leafs part ways with Berube

For a long time, the running joke was that a potato could out-GM the Leafs' (Nonis, specifically).

Having witnessed an actual potato GM this past two seasons... I'm reconsidering.
 
Who are the coaches that you'd trust to do all of (1) work with superstars both peaking and peaked, (2) successfully develop younger talents, (3) get the most of the roster by adopting whatever play style or systems suit the talent available, and (4) be someone players would want to come to Toronto to play with?

Those seem to me to be the most important traits TO needs at this juncture.
 
mr grieves said:
Who are the coaches that you'd trust to do all of (1) work with superstars both peaking and peaked, (2) successfully develop younger talents, (3) get the most of the roster by adopting whatever play style or systems suit the talent available, and (4) be someone players would want to come to Toronto to play with?

Those seem to me to be the most important traits TO needs at this juncture.
Click to expand...
The more I think about it the more Jay Woodcroft jumps to the top of the list for me. 1) Got career years out of McDavid/Drai/RNH/Hyman in 22/23, 2) Oilers weren't exactly loaded with young talent but did coach pretty much all their good recent prospects both in the AHL and NHL (Bouchard, McLeod, Yamamoto, Holloway, Broberg), 3) he's a young analytically-inclined coach who I think will be able to exist in tandem with Chayka and his vision for the team, and 4) well I know one pretty good player who by all accounts really enjoyed playing for him that could be available in a couple years...

edit: worth noting too that Woodcroft spent 7 years as an assistant coach with the Thornton+Marleau-era Sharks. We know how much Matthews respects those two and they would potentially have nice things to say about him.
 
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mr grieves said:
Who are the coaches that you'd trust to do all of (1) work with superstars both peaking and peaked, (2) successfully develop younger talents, (3) get the most of the roster by adopting whatever play style or systems suit the talent available, and (4) be someone players would want to come to Toronto to play with?

Those seem to me to be the most important traits TO needs at this juncture.
Click to expand...

1, 3 are the higher priorities to me to focus on; maximizing Matthews/Nylander style puck might not be a long-term playoff winning strategy, but it'll crank up their value for the eventual rebuild, and/or accidentally win a Cup in the meantime. This feeds into 4 (Connor, come home).

2 should be handled at the dev and assistant coach levels. Coach just needs to have an open mind about what opportunities to open up for them, and GM needs to find servicable depth that sets an NHL floor for the baby buds to overtake.
 
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