The Toronto Maple Leafs are interviewing 2 former NY Islanders bench bosses for their head coaching vacancy

After a tumultuous season in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs failed to reach the postseason for the first time in 10 seasons, one of the league's most recognizable franchises was in disarray. With the dismissal of Brad Treliving as General Manager and John Chayka hired to take on the role, the organization decided to move on from Craig Bernie as Head Coach.

With a head coaching vacancy and owning the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, the new head coach will have a valuable piece to build around.

Today, we learned that the Maple Leafs will be bringing in two former NY Islanders head coaches for interviews: Patrick Roy and Peter Laviolette. 

Roy, dismissed as Islanders head coach with four games remaining in the season, is one of the most polarizing figures in all of hockey. A four-time Stanley Cup champion, won two cups with the Montreal Canadiens and is regarded as royalty in Quebec. Interviewing for the Leafs head coaching vacancy is something that won’t go over well with the people of Montreal and would be strange overall. Similar to when Bryan Trottier was named head coach of the NY Rangers.

Roy went 97-78-22 in two and a half seasons behind the bench for the Islanders, reaching the playoffs once.

Laviolette took over the Islanders' job in the 2001 season. In each of his two seasons as bench boss, the Islanders qualified for the playoffs, losing in teh first round each time, before being fired. Since being let go by the Islanders, Laviolette has spent time with teh Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and most recently, the NY Rangers.

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