The Leafs should take a run at Rod Brind’Amour

To quote WWE Hall of Famer Ted DiBiase, everybody’s got a price.

Even Rod Brind’Amour.

Regardless of what anyone says, money talks. Plain and simple.

Even though on the surface, it appears the Leafs have Craig Berube in their crosshairs to be the 41^st head coach in franchise history, you just never know what can happen.

To the best of our knowledge, New Jersey is another team who’s still firmly in the mix on the former St. Louis Blues bench boss. Over and above that, Berube’s still doing interviews for other vacancies —the latest coming via Zoom with Winnipeg on Tuesday.

If the 58-year-old’s still weighing his options, then the Maple Leafs should be, too.

Public posturing or not, it’s all a giant game. There’s no set playbook. This is all part of the negotiation process.

By all accounts, Brind’Amour, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has no intentions of leaving Carolina. That said, the wildcard in all of this is unequivocally Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, who’s well known for being a penny-pincher. In essence, Brind’Amour has earned a hefty raise, but at this point, it’s unknown whether the Canes are willing to get even remotely close to his market value. On top of that, Brind’Amour’s very serious about making sure his staff is properly compensated as well. To no one’s surprise, there’s reportedly been pushback from ownership on that front, too —just another hurdle to keep in mind moving forward.

Any way you slice it, Brad Treliving and the big, bad Toronto Maple Leafs have the ability to make this entire situation mighty interesting.

For all intents and purposes, Toronto’s the New York Yankees and Carolina’s the Oakland Athletics. They can blow Brind’Amour away with an offer he can’t refuse. Additionally, it wouldn’t be outlandish to suggest that they have the financial wherewithal to poach Carolina’s entire staff. Yeah, they’re that rich.

At the very least, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for a rumour to get out there linking the 2006 Stanley Cup champion to the Leafs. Firstly, it would help to call Dundon’s bluff. Additionally, it could force the hand of all parties involved pertaining to the Maple Leafs head coaching vacancy.

For now, it appears that the coaching carousel is at a standstill. For what it’s worth, down 3-2 in the series, the Canes will host the Rangers for Game 6 on Thursday night.

All eyes on the Rod the Bod.