Paul Maurice not the next Leafs coach?
Well, I’ll keep this short and to the point, for those who may not yet know…
Upon Pat Quinn’s firing from the Toronto Maple Leafs, it was John Ferguson Jr.’s idea to name Paul Maurice as the new coach immediately. But, Larry Tanenbaum did not agree, and has told JFJ to interview coaches to be here long term. The reasoning for this seems to be as simple as Tanenbaum feels that JFJ will not be the GM of the Leafs by the time next season starts, and wants a coach behind the bench that will be able to work with whoever is the General Manager at this time. Of course, Marc Crawford’s name has been mentioned as the next coach of the Leafs, but there’s also another name who has been brought up, and he has been to the Air Canada Center more than once in the last few weeks, undergoing interviews. That man? Former Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Pat Burns!
When Burns was contacted by the media to comment, he issued the following statement.
“When I heard that the coaching job in Toronto was available I decided that I should through my name into the hat. I feel much better now and have recovered nicely from my illness (Cancer and treatments). I have been deciding whether I should return to hockey which is my one true love. When I saw that the Leafs job was up for grabs I came to the decision that I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get back in the game.”
So, now it appears that the board of directors for Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment are torn between three very relaible coaches, and might spend the better part of this summer, trying to choose the best coach for this team.
Needless to say, it should be an interesting summer….