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The Toronto Maple Leafs are seriously taking their time.
Craig Berube is out as head coach, but as far as his replacement? It has not been a quick process for the Leafs.
Fans of other sports leagues, like the NFL and NBA, likely recognize that those entities hire their new head coaches very quickly.
In the NHL, and particularly with the Leafs right now, the process has been very different.
The latest update from NHL insider Frank Seravalli also suggests it's not going to speed up all that quickly in the near-term.
Seravalli reported on Wednesday that the "Leafs brass (is) expected to regroup and focus on Draft Combine next week in Buffalo," and then the "process (is) expected to continue the following week with in-person interviews for a small handful of finalists."
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Essentially, that suggests there are at least two more weeks until this is settled.
Seravalli reported that the Maple Leafs have interviewed as many as 20 candidates so far, most of them via Zoom.
He added that one of the frontrunners for the gig is Jay Woodcroft, recently let go by the Anaheim Ducks.
The reality here, though, is that the Leafs are taking their time on this. After two years of Berube, the second one a disaster, Toronto wants to get this right.
The Maple Leafs have new decision makers in the front office with John Chayka and Mats Sundin, and this is their first major move.
Whoever is hired will be judged not just themselves but also on how it represents Chayka and his staff, so it's a crucial choice all around.
The Maple Leafs want to bounce back in 2026-27, and they'll need to nail this hire to help that cause.
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