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The time is now for the Maple Leafs to add Bruce Cassidy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are so far out of the NHL playoffs that they are (probably) looking at how to get their first-round draft pick back from the Boston Bruins. However, what they should be doing is getting on the phone with Bruce Cassidy and shipping him over to Toronto on the first plane out.
Earlier on March 29th, 2026, the Vegas Golden Knights made the shocking move of replacing Bruce Cassidy with John Tortorella.
Here’s why the Maple Leafs must act on this opportunity before someone else beats them to the punch.
Maple Leafs Better Off Without Craig Berube?
With the recent report of Tortorella replacing Cassidy, the Maple Leafs have a gift-wrapped opportunity to replace Berube.
Hiring Cassidy could be the perfect way for the Maple Leafs to start trending upwards.
A recent analysis from Editor in Leaf reveals how the Maple Leafs have been performing under Berube compared to other recent coaches.
“However, for Berube, the Leafs have averaged almost as much goals for as goals against per game, close to 3.1,” Edward Eng wrote on March 28th. “In addition, their play with the man advantage has plummeted, falling out of the top 10 in league, including currently in 20th place for the 2025-26 season. On the other hand, at least their play shorthanded remains about the same, as they are still among the top third in the league.”
“However, the Leafs have been outshot by almost three shots per game while averaging only 27.5 shots per game since Berube has taken over.”
It’s hard to win hockey games when your team has become afraid to shoot the puck.
Bruce Cassidy is a Great Fit for the Maple Leafs
Cassidy has an incredible coaching history to work with. For starters, he’s a Stanley Cup-winning coach with a strong regular-season and playoff record.
In the past five seasons, including 2025-26, he has had three 50+ win seasons. Moreover, in 2022-23, he won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights. In the three seasons prior to the current year, Cassidy led the Golden Knights to a first-place finish in the Pacific Division.
That’s a great resume to bring to the table.
The Flip Side of Hiring Bruce Cassidy
Of course, the flip side of hiring someone like Cassidy comes from the players.
In the 2025 player poll, Cassidy didn’t get a favorable vote of confidence from the players. In this poll, 12.31 percent of players voted Cassidy as the coach they would least like to play for.
That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence, at least from a position of likeability amongst the players.
In The Athletic’s poll, John Tortorella got the most votes, to the surprise of no one in hockey circles. Tortorella received 38.46 percent of the votes in the poll.
At the end of the day, the Maple Leafs management must decide what matters more to them. Are they going to value winning as the most important thing? Or will the players’ happiness have a higher priority than that?
Either way, there is definitely a chance that the Maple Leafs make a head coaching change before the next regular season begins. However, if they are going to make a change, they would be hard-pressed to find a better option than Cassidy.
Caleb Kerney Caleb covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered professional hockey since 2022, including bylines at Dobber Prospects, The Hockey Writers, and The Hockey News. More about Caleb Kerney
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