John Chayka casting wide net in Maple Leafs coaching search

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Some percolating thoughts as we get deeper into May and with the conference finals in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs on tap:

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What’s to make of the Maple Leafs’ coaching search?

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General manager John Chayka, so far, is a man of his word.

When Chayka met with media last Wednesday a couple of hours after the Leafs announced they had fired coach Craig Berube, Chayka said the hunt for a new head coach would “start very wide and (management would) talk to as many people as we can with varying backgrounds.”

That the Leafs reportedly have shown interest in David Carle of the University of Denver speaks to Chayka’s desire to not stay on the beaten path.

Carle, who has guided Denver to three NCAA championships in the past five seasons and the United States to the gold medal at the world junior championship in 2024 and 2025, is on a collision course with a head coaching job in the National Hockey League. It’s just a matter of when for the 36-year-old native of Anchorage, Alaska.

At the same time, coaches with vast NHL experience such as Bruce Cassidy absolutely should fall under the purview of the Leafs.

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If the Leafs are serious about turning their situation back in the right direction quickly, wouldn’t it make sense to do all they can to talk to Cassidy, even if takes some cajoling with the stubborn Vegas Golden Knights to get permission?

The Vancouver Canucks joined the coaching queue on Tuesday with the announcement that Adam Foote has been fired, as well as assistant coaches Scott Young, Kevin Dean and Brett McLean.

The Leafs, Canucks, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers each have a head coaching vacancy to fill.

The Leafs aren’t necessarily in a rush to fill the position but, at the same time, Chayka and team executive Mats Sundin can’t dither.

Are the Buffalo Sabres for real?

For the time being, yes.

Give the Sabres full marks for being one of the final five teams remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs before losing in overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second round on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Sabres pushed themselves to OT of the deciding game on merit.

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What it means in the long run for the Sabres is where some guessing might begin. It’s not whether Buffalo is set up well for the future that’s in question.

Even if they lose forward Alex Tuch — who had no points in the series against Montreal — to free agency this summer, the Sabres are well-stocked with a core of forwards Tage Thompson, Josh Norris, Zach Benson and Josh Doan, and defencemen Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram and Owen Power.

What might work against the Sabres is that the Atlantic Division is the deepest in the NHL, a factor that should remain in place for the next several seasons.

We would imagine that at the start of the playoffs for the foreseeable future, one could make the argument for any one of four or five teams to come out of the division and advance to the conference final.

Coach Lindy Ruff knows he has a strong group. Key for the Sabres in 2026-27 and next spring will be to find a way to use the experience of getting to within a goal of the conference final to their advantage. It will take some work.

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How are the Toronto Marlies looking?

The Marlies return home on Wednesday night at the Coca-Cola Coliseum for Game 3 of the North Division final against the Cleveland Monsters after splitting the first two games of the best-of-five on the road.

One of the more intriguing developments during the Calder Cup playoffs is Artur Akhtyamov taking the lead as the Marlies’ starting goaltender, though coach John Gruden on Tuesday wouldn’t commit to naming a starter for Game 3.

Gruden jokingly said, as he has before, that he can flip a coin to decide whether it’s Akhtyamov or Dennis Hildeby who gets the call on any given night.

If so, Akhtyamov has been on quite the run of luck. He has started eight of the Marlies’ 10 games in the post-season, including the past six. We’ll be curious to see if Gruden sticks with Akhtyamov on Wednesday after the Marlies lost in Game 2 in Cleveland on Saturday.

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Hildeby played in 20 games with the Leafs in 2025-26 and was the only Leafs goalie of five to finish with a save percentage above .900, recording a mark of .914. Yet he has made just two starts in the playoffs for the Marlies and since April 29, he has played just 20 minutes, in a relief role on May 5 against Laval.

The assumption had been that Hildeby would emerge to take a run at a full-time spot with the Leafs in 2026-27, perhaps supplanting Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll.

That still could happen. But for now, Akhtyamov has put himself squarely into that competition.

tkoshan@postmedia.com

X: @koshtorontosun

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