REPORT: Leafs asked Wild for permission to speak with Bruce Boudreau

The “Get Bruce Boudreau to Toronto” train seemed to generate more steam after a report came out on Wednesday night.

According to James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Leafs asked the Wild for permission to talk to Bruce Boudreau at some point during the last few months. While a meeting did not take place, he was aware of it and those in his inner circle say he is “intrigued” by the possibility of coaching for his hometown team.

Following the departures of Paul McFarland and Andrew Brewer last week, the Leafs are in the market for a guy with experience as an NHL coach to be added to the coaching staff. Sheldon Keefe has been highly involved in the interview process thus far as he looks to bring on a mentor to join him behind the bench.

Should Boudreau fail to land a coaching gig elsewhere, he reportedly would like to join the Leafs for a few personal reasons. One of them to be close to his mother who lives in the city and the other to help Toronto win the Stanley Cup.

Although there has been no formal meeting between the parties and the Leafs have allegedly spoken to other candidates, there is a mutual interest between Toronto and Boudreau.

In other words, it turns out the idea of the Leafs bringing on a coach with one of the highest winning percentages in NHL history isn’t as outlandish as initially thought.