Who is David Carle? What Maple Leafs fans need to know about potential head coach hire

The Toronto Maple Leafs chose to move on from head coach Craig Berube after two seasons.

That means they need a replacement, and one of the names being rumored about is David Carle.

The Leafs seem likely to look in a lot of different directions here, but Carle is a particularly fascinating target.

Elliotte Friedman: Re Maple Leafs coaching search: Someone that they're interested in is David Carle; I think there's been some early contact there and I think they're gonna talk again - NHL Now (5/18)

Carle isn't in the NHL at the moment, though, and so he might not be as well known as some of the other candidates.

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Who is David Carle?

Carle is the head men's ice hockey coach at the University of Denver in the NCAA ranks.

He played as a defenseman for Denver in the college ranks, then spent time as an assistant there, along with the Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL, before being named Denver's head coach in 2018.

He has a 179-74-17 record as a college head coach.

He has also led Denver to national championships in 2022, 2024 and 2026.

Carle adds coaching experience for the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championships, twice leading Team USA to gold medals (2024 and 2025).

He's the younger brother of Matt Carle, who played 11 seasons in the NHL.

Carle has never coached a single team higher than the NCAA or USHL level, so a hire by the Maple Leafs would be a bold move.

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