The Toronto Maple Leafs fired their head coach, Craig Berube, on May 13, 2026. Former NHL player Joe Pavelski recently addressed reports of him joining them as their new HC. The 41-year-old confirmed the reports about replacing Berube, who was fired by the new Maple Leafs GM, John Chayka.

X account Leafslatest shared the excerpt of the interview with Pavelski on June 11, 2026. They credited sports news reporter Curtis Pashelka as their source.

“There’s truth to that stuff. We have had discussions. I’m excited to go through the process and kind of see where it leads,” said Pavelski, as per the X post from Leafslatest earlier this evening.

Pavelski was in Stateline, Nevada, where he talked about the Maple Leafs’ links.

The two-time Stanley Cup finalist, Pavelski, emphasized the Leafs are in no rush, per Pashelka's June 11 Mercury News report.

“They’re (being) very thorough… They have a bunch of stuff on their end, and you’re just being patient and figuring out things on your end, so there’s not a lot to talk about right now,” he remarked.

Moreover, in his interviews since joining the Maple Leafs as GM last month, Chayka has always reiterated that he does not keep a set timeframe to lock in a new head coach.

But he and the front office have recently reduced their candidate list from 50 to 20, which Pavelski has made despite having no NHL coaching experience.

What Made Joe Pavelski Interested in Joining Toronto Maple Leafs as Head Coach?

In his 18-year-long NHL career, Pavelski has played for the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars, but not once has he looked at coaching.

When he was asked about what made him interested in becoming a head coach in the NHL and with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he had an intriguing answer.

“So I do like the coaching side,” Pavelski said, as per The Mercury News report. “I’ve always thought the game well. It was a strength of mine when I played. When the opportunity kind of came [from the Leafs] to explore it more, it was something I definitely wanted to entertain, and that’s where kind of the discussions have led.”

The Plover, Wisconsin, native also alluded to having fun while coaching the team called the 15U AAA Madison Capitols, in which his son, Nate, plays.

He volunteers his expertise now and then at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Moreover, before turning to the coaching scene, Pavelski had a long NHL career before retiring in 2024. He reached the Stanley Cup Final once each, in 2016 (with the Sharks) and 2020 (with the Stars), respectively.

Will Joe Pavelski get picked as the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs? Give us your prediction in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Surjo Ray