Overview
- Multiple outlets reported on Sunday that Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman says Joe Pavelski will be interviewed as the Maple Leafs move into the next phase of their head-coach search.
- Pavelski is a highly respected recent retiree with a 1,332-game NHL career but his formal coaching résumé is limited to youth work in Madison, Wisconsin.
- General manager John Chayka has conducted a wide, deliberate search with roughly 15–16 preliminary virtual interviews and is now holding in-person talks with shortlisted candidates.
- Other names linked to Toronto’s process include veteran NHL coaches Peter Laviolette and Patrick Roy while college coach David Carle has been ruled out or declined a formal interview.
- Analysts compare Pavelski to Martin St. Louis as a fit who could lift player buy-in and development but warn the hire would carry real risk for a Leafs team under pressure to return to the playoffs and retain stars.