One day after the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Guy Boucher would not be returning to the team, news spread that the assistant coach wanted to be considered for the head coaching position that became open following Sheldon Keefe’s dismissal.
“I think Boucher had indicated that if a coaching change was made, he would like to be considered for the position,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman remarked on the newest episode of the ’32 Thoughts Podcast’. “I don’t know how seriously Toronto did it or if he was a candidate.”
The Maple Leafs ultimately hired Craig Berube, who has since tinkered with the coaching staff. He hired Lane Lambert as the club’s first associate coach, while assistant Manny Malhotra left to become the new bench boss of the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, and Dean Chynoweth left the team.
Boucher joined the Maple Leafs last season to handle the power play and contribute to the attack. Boucher’s request for consideration for the top job is logical, given that he was on the verge of becoming the Maple Leafs’ head coach in 2015, shortly before Mike Babcock took the role.
“I had a few people telling me to watch this one,” Friedman stated after Berube was hired. “How will he feel? So I don’t think that comes as a big surprise, and we’ll see what Boucher’s next move is.
In Boucher’s one season as an assistant, the Leafs had the seventh-best power play, at 24 percent. However, in the playoffs, they only scored once and finished at 4.8 percent in their first-round series defeat to the Boston Bruins.
There is still no indication on who will replace Boucher on the bench, with names like as Marc Savard still floating about and previously linked to the post.