Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Pierre LeBrun confirmed Joe Pavelski as a Toronto Maple Leafs coaching finalist, with Patrick Roy and Jay Woodcroft still believed to be in the mix.
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported Roy was interviewed earlier in the process. The fact that he hasn't been ruled out after John Chayka spoke with over 20 candidates speaks for itself.
Re Maple Leafs coaching search: "Joe Pavelski was one of those five [candidates]; I have not confirmed these names but I believe that the likes of Jay Woodcroft and Patrick Roy should still be in the mix."
- Pierre LeBrun
- Pierre LeBrun
Chayka came in as a data-driven executive, and early expectations were that he would lean toward a modern, analytically-driven hire.
Keeping a personality like Roy alive this deep in the process challenges that assumption entirely.
Roy most recently coached the New York Islanders. He is not a subtle presence, and nobody close to the game would describe him that way.
His interview reportedly left a strong impression on Chayka and the search committee earlier in the process.
That detail matters more than it looks.
What Roy's survival says about Chayka's thinking
The honest read is that Chayka isn't choosing between personalities - he is choosing between diagnoses of what went wrong with this team.
Roy only stays in the process if Chayka believes the problem was cultural, not tactical.
Toronto missed the playoffs and finished last in the Atlantic Division. Craig Berube was fired on May 13, and Chayka may believe the roster needed a harder reset than a system change could deliver.
Roy delivers that by default, walking in with authority he doesn't need to build gradually.
Toronto would know exactly what it hired from day one.
Woodcroft and Pavelski change the calculation
Jay Woodcroft and Joe Pavelski represent entirely different solutions to the same problem.
Woodcroft rebuilt a broken offensive structure in Edmonton, while Pavelski brings credibility without a single game of professional coaching experience.
LeBrun's phrasing was careful, confirming Pavelski while saying he only "believes" Roy and Woodcroft are still in the mix.
The Leafs haven't closed the book on any direction, which means Chayka's decision is still genuinely open.
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