Joe Pavelski drops honest review of Maple Leafs head coach search process

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a new head coach. The Maple Leafs have hired Jim Hiller, a former assistant with the team under Mike Babcock. While Hiller got the job, former NHLer Joe Pavelski was up for the job and interested.

Now, Pavelski is talking about the interview process and the search for a Maple Leafs coach, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

“It was great,” Pavelski said. “It was awesome. It was interesting. When I got the call, if I had interest in the job, yeah, I mean, it’s Toronto. It kind of takes your breath away to be thought about as a head coach. So it definitely had my attention.”

Pavelski retired following the 2023-24 season from the Dallas Stars. He broke into the NHL in 2006-07 with the San Jose Sharks before leaving to join the Stars in the summer of 2018. He was long known for his leadership. Since retiring, he has coached his son’s team in Madison, Wisconsin, and is the head coach there.

“After they first reached out, I took a couple of days to think about it,” he said. “It’s a process you definitely want to go through and see how it really looks. I have so much respect for what these coaches do, and that’s one of the reasons you really have to look at it. You know the time they put into it and the care they put into it and everything that comes with it. I definitely wanted to follow up on the process and see where it went.”

Pavelski did not get the job at the end of the day. His son has now been drafted into the OHL and could be a future NHL player. Meanwhile, Pavelski could be a future NHL coach if the opportunity arises.

“You always listen,” Pavelski said. “I think if it happens, it’s probably a few years out.”

Pavelski is seen as being in the mold of a Martin St. Louis and Rod Brind’Amour. Both are former players, and Brind’Amour just won the Stanley Cup. Pavelski also understands he has learned from some great coaches.

“It’s funny as you talk to people, that was a comment I got a few times — ‘Well, you’ve been coaching the last five years of your career,’” Pavelski said with a laugh. “I chuckle at that because I didn’t see it that way. I had tremendous coaches in my career. I loved Pete (DeBoer) and Spotter (assistant Steve Spott). And with Rick Bowness and Todd McLellan, I learned a lot from those guys.”

While Pavelski did not get the job this time around, he may be a head coach at some point. With how often NHL teams move on from coaches, even after success, the time could be sooner rather than later.

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