There have been a lot of names reported as candidates for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ head coaching position. So it’s no surprise to learn that at least one internal candidate will be considered for the position of Toronto bench boss.
Sources tell The Hockey News that Maple Leafs assistant coach Derek Lalonde will interview for the job.
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Lalonde joined the Maple Leafs last summer after associate coach Lane Lambert departed Toronto to become the new head coach of the Seattle Kraken. While Lalonde led the club’s penalty kill, Toronto finished eighth in the NHL with an 81.2 percent efficiency. But defensively, the Leafs struggled all season long, and defense fell under his purview as well.
When the Leafs struggled in the early parts of last season, many pointed to Lalonde as a potential interim head coach option had they elected to fire Berube mid-season. Toronto instead elected to move on from Berube at the end of the season following the installment of new management led by GM John Chayka and Senior Executive Advisor to Hockey Operations Mats Sundin.
Lalonde had a successful first stint in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning under Jon Cooper. There he won Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, while going to the Stanley Cup Final again in 2022. From there, Lalonde earned his first NHL head coaching position, becoming bench boss of the Detroit Red Wings at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. In his second season, the Red Wings narrowly missed the playoffs despite a 41-32-9 record. He was fired midway through the 2024-25 season and replaced by veteran head coach Todd McLellan.
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It’s not a real surprise that the Leafs would talk to Lalonde, as Chayka mentioned the process to find a new bench boss would be extensive. The Leafs talked to well over 20 people for the role Chayka occupies now, so this could take some time.
From a public standpoint, Lalonde has proven to be quite insightful. Who could ever forget his time on the panel during Hockey Night In Canada back in 2023, when he was working during the intermission of the Maple Leafs and Lightning first-round series? It was there where he mentioned that the Lightning had done an internal study showing that goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was one of the lower-percentage goalies in finding the puck from the point.
“We actually changed our entire D-zone [coverage] and improved our pass rush,” Lalonde said.
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Lalonde’s future is up in the air along with the rest of the Maple Leafs assistants, as a new head coach will likely want to bring a new staff. But he could be a good candidate to stick around in any kind of coaching capacity.
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