The Leafs' coaching search just took a major turn after latest John Chayka leak
Derek Lalonde and Craig Berube are now directly tied in Toronto as the Leafs push deeper into their coaching search.
Frank Seravalli says the Leafs are going to talk to Lalonde.
That matters because this is not some random outside name being floated to fill airtime.
Lalonde is already inside the organization.
The Maple Leafs hired him as an assistant coach on June 6, 2025, after his run as Detroit's head coach, so he already knows the room, the market, and the pressure around the club.
That instantly makes him more than a courtesy interview.
Toronto is looking for a new coach because the club fired Berube on May 13, and GM John Chayka has already made it clear this search is going to be wide and deep.
So when Lalonde's name stays alive inside that process, it says the Leafs believe there is at least something real worth exploring.
That does not mean he is the favorite.
It means Toronto sees value in a coach who already has a read on what went wrong and what this group still needs.
-
John Chayka may already have his dream coaching target in Toronto
That is what makes Lalonde interesting.
He is not coming in blind like an outside candidate would. He has already worked with these players, already lived the daily noise, and already seen how heavy this market gets when the team slips. That is an inference based on his current role and Toronto's coaching change.
There is also a practical side here.
A new head coach usually wants his own staff, and Berube's dismissal opened that whole bench picture. If Lalonde is still being discussed anyway, then his work inside the building clearly made an impression somewhere. That second sentence is an inference from Toronto's official statement that the next head coach will determine the remainder of the staff.
The challenge is obvious too.
If Toronto hires from within after a failed season, fans are going to ask what really changed.
That is why this interview matters.
Lalonde has to show he is not only familiar. He has to show he can be the voice that moves the team forward, not the one that simply stays because he is already there.
In that sense, this feels like a serious test.
The Leafs are not just checking whether Derek Lalonde can coach. They are checking whether he can own the biggest chair in the loudest market in hockey.
|
YESTERDAY
MAY 25, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Taylor Hall | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jackson Blake | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Seth Jarvis | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Eric Robinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||