Report: Former NHLer Joe Pavelski emerges as Leafs head coach candidate

A former star on the ice might be a candidate for a big job behind the bench.

On Sunday’s episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that former NHLer Joe Pavelski is on the radar of the Toronto Maple Leafs to potentially take over as the team’s next head coach. According to Friedman, the Leafs view the longtime captain similarly to how the Montreal Canadiens approached Martin St Louis, a person with significant experience on the ice, despite a lack of coaching experience at high levels of the game.

The move clearly paid off for the Habs, as St. Louis has guided the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, including a trip to the Eastern Conference Final this season. Pavelski has been coaching his son, Nate, at the youth level back home in Madison, Wis.

Pavelski has only been out of the NHL for a couple of years, having announced his retirement from playing in the summer following the 2023-24 campaign. It ended an outstanding, Hall-of-Fame-worthy 18-year career in the NHL. The 41-year-old spent the first 13 seasons with the San Jose Sharks before signing with the Dallas Stars in the summer of 2019.

In 1,332 regular-season games, Pavelski scored 476 goals and 592 assists for 1,068 points. He added 143 points in 201 playoff appearances, reaching the Stanley Cup Final with the Sharks in 2016 and the Stars in 2020. He also made it to the Western Conference Final seven times, four with San Jose and three in Dallas.

The head coaching position in Toronto became open after new Leafs general manager John Chayka announced the firing of Craig Berube after just two seasons last month. It came after the Leafs endured a rough 2025-26 season, during which the team failed to make the postseason for the first time in 10 years.