Besides winning the NHL Draft Lottery, the only other aspect of the Toronto Maple Leafs 2025-26 season that has been an unexpected positive has been the playoff run of the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies finished in fourth place in the AHL North Division and have been forced to the limit in each of the first three rounds of the Calder Cup Playoffs, but each time came out victorious against Rochester, Laval, and Cleveland, with Game 5 victories against the Rocket and Monsters coming on the road.
In the Eastern Conference Final, the Marlies won the first two games against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the road, but promptly gave back home ice advantage with a pair of losses at Coca-Cola Coliseum. Toronto was able to salvage something at home with a 5-1 victory in Game 5, and finished off the Penguins with a 2-1 overtime win on Sunday.
Alex Nylander at 13:44 of the first overtime period to send the Marlies to their first Calder Cup Final since winning it all in 2018. Easton Cowan responded from a bad giveaway that cost the Marlies in Game 4 with a goal in Game 5 and the tying goal in Game 6, and Artur Akhtyamov was spectacular in goal for Toronto, making 39 stops in the series clincher.
The Marlies will face the winner of the Western Conference Final between the Colorado Eagles and Chicago Wolves, who will play Game 7 in Loveland, CO on Monday.
The news on the Leafs coaching front is progressing, but is taking some surprising twists. One name that Toronto can scratch off its list of possibles is Stanley Cup winner Peter Laviolette, as the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun confirmed on Monday, will be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. The most intriguing news of the weekend was the name of former NHLer Joe Pavelski, who, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, has reached the second stage of interviews for the Leafs job.
Pavelski retired from the NHL in 2024, and the last two seasons has coached his son Nate’s club, the Madison Capitals. His experience level in coaching is similar to Montreal bench boss Martin St. Louis, who coached parts of four seasons of underage hockey before ascending to head coach of the Habs. The difference here is that St. Louis took over a rebuilding Montreal club and was allowed to make mistakes and grow along with his club, while the Leafs are expecting to contend for a playoff spot next season, while at the same time developing the top overall pick in the 2026 Draft.
It is possible that Toronto could add Pavelski as part of their coaching staff and not as their head coach, but if they went in that unorthodox direction, they would have to bolster an inexperienced head coach with significantly experienced assistants.
In other potential coaching news, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Edmonton Oilers are kicking tires on former Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. Babcock was fired by Toronto in November 2019 and waited until the final three-plus years of his contract with the Leafs before taking the Columbus Blue Jackets job in 2023. After news of more mistreatment of players came to the forefront, the Stanley Cup winner resigned without coaching a game in Columbus.
The Oilers are in desperation mode with the Vegas Golden Knights blocking them from interviewing Bruce Cassidy. GM Stan Bowman has had a brown thumb ever since taking over in Edmonton, and this decision if it results in hiring Babcock, will be more of the same. Connor McDavid has likely been consulted on the possibility of hiring Babcock, which shows how desperate he is to win a Stanley Cup, but this could be the best news for those Leafs fans who hope to see #97 in Blue and White in two years.
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