It’s been just over a week since their introductory press conference, but John Chayka and Mats Sundin are wasting no time reshaping the Toronto Maple Leafs. In short order, they decided Craig Berube wasn’t the right fit behind the bench, and the 60-year-old was relieved of his duties on Wednesday morning. With that, the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take served as an all-encompassing primer on Toronto’s search for its next head coach.

Firstly, we weighed in on Vancouver bringing in Ryan Johnson and the Sedin twins to form their new management group. From there, we shifted to Edmonton, where we discussed the Oilers moving on from Kris Knoblauch, and whether he could eventually emerge as a candidate for the vacant head coaching job in Toronto. We also broke down Nathan MacKinnon’s dominance after Colorado stormed back from a three-goal deficit to stun Minnesota 4–3 in overtime and take the series 4–1. The Avalanche are now 8–1 in the playoffs and have gotten at least one goal from 16 different skaters — a staggering level of depth. The bigger question: is anyone actually capable of beating Colorado right now? At best, it feels unlikely. And at this pace, Nicolas Roy is well on his way to picking up a second Stanley Cup ring.

Meantime, veteran NHL bench boss Peter Laviolette stopped by for a revealing conversation that felt a lot like a live job interview. Laviolette opened up about his immediate reaction to the coaching vacancy, why Toronto remains one of the premier jobs in hockey, and compared the spotlight surrounding the Leafs to coaching iconic franchises like the Cowboys and Yankees. He also detailed the behind-the-scenes process of interviewing for NHL coaching positions, explained why his coaching style and experience could be a strong fit for this Leafs core, and discussed the importance of thriving in high-pressure markets. Additionally, Laviolette touched on the added intrigue of Toronto holding the No. 1 overall pick — potentially landing Gavin McKenna — his experience developing young talent, and how much a franchise cornerstone like Auston Matthews factors into evaluating a coaching opportunity.