Colby Cohen pours cold water on David Carle-to-Leafs speculation: Leafs Morning Take
It’s shaping up to be a very interesting next couple of weeks when it comes to coaching movement around the NHL.
You can probably cross Manny Malhotra off the Leafs’ candidate list. On Tuesday, Vancouver fired Adam Foote, and all signs now point to Malhotra being the leading in-house candidate for the promotion.
That’s where the conversation started on the Wednesday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Speaking of which, according to David Pagnotta, it certainly sounds like Jay Woodcroft is on Toronto’s radar. However, the Leafs would need permission from Anaheim Ducks to speak with the former Oilers bench boss. We also addressed reporting from David Alter suggesting that Derek Lalonde is expected to receive an interview as part of Toronto’s coaching search.
Meantime, according to reports from Chris Johnston, the message coming out of the Leafs’ front office is that they’re willing to discuss any player on the roster except Auston Matthews. Naturally, that sparked an intriguing conversation about what John Chayka and Mats Sundin are thinking behind the scenes. More and more, it feels like the Leafs are gearing up for at least one major trade. Our biggest concern remains what that could mean for Matthew Knies. At the same time, Toronto’s asset pool is pretty thin, so they’ll need to get creative if they want to make a significant move.
After that, former NHLer and Morning Cuppa Hockey co-host Colby Cohen stopped by to break down Toronto’s blue line, the Leafs’ willingness to discuss nearly anybody in a trade, and the organization’s ongoing coaching search. Most notably, Cohen poured cold water on the idea of David Carle leaving Denver for Toronto, suggesting there’s a “99% chance” he stays put because “it’s not about money” for him. With that in mind, Cohen identified Jay Woodcroft as a coaching candidate who really stands out for the Leafs’ vacancy.
Coming up on the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take, we’ll dissect Game 1 between Colorado and Vegas as well as preview Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final between Carolina and Montreal. Plus, Ray Ferraro is expected to drop by the show once again.