The Toronto Maple Leafs failed to close the deal with their head coach search earlier this week when Peter Laviolette chose the Los Angeles Kings for his next job. Laviolette was reportedly close to becoming the next leader of the Leafs until the Kings swooped in, which has new general manager John Chayka looking at some peculiar options. Thankfully, it benefits the Boston Bruins if Toronto makes a mistake with their coaching search for a multitude of reasons.
The simplest reason is that the Leafs have become a hated rival of the Bruins, and any pain for that team is a welcome sight for Boston fans. With the Bruins hoping to get back to being contenders in the Atlantic Division, they'll need some of their rivals to stay below them in the standings, and Toronto is heading toward a massive mistake in their coaching search.
After seeing the success of the Montreal Canadiens under Martin St. Louis, rumors are circulating that Chayka is considering either Joe Pavelski or Mark Giordano to be the next head coach. While hiring someone with no coaching experience worked for Montreal, it makes no sense for Toronto with their current goal of contending with no first-round picks on the horizon.
Pavelski says he's had a couple discussions with the Leafs about the head coach job, talks still ongoing
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 11, 2026
Chayka is trying to convince Auston Matthews to stay with the organization by demonstrating the team's commitment to winning. When the Canadiens hired St. Louis, they were heading into a rebuild, which gave the ex-player time to learn the ropes. Throwing someone like Pavelski or Giordano into the fire in Toronto would be a colossal mistake if the new-look front office has any visions of rebounding from this season's disaster.
The good news for the Bruins, aside from one of their rivals continuing to be bad, is that they own the Leafs' first-round pick in 2028, unless Toronto decides to give it to them in 2027. If Toronto hires a first-year head coach and the team hits rock bottom, it'll likely spell the end of Matthews with the Maple Leafs, which could make the 2027-28 season a complete dumpster fire.
While the Leafs' Draft Lottery win stung Bruins fans this season, it'd be a victory if the unprotected first-rounder in 2028 ended up being one of the top picks of the draft. While some fans thought it was a disaster when the Leafs won the lottery and assumed they were on their way to contending with Gavin McKenna on the roster, I wouldn't be so quick to make that prediction. Toronto still has a long way to go.
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