Leafs plan to interview ex-Sharks captain for head coaching job, per report

The Toronto Maple Leafs are planning to speak with former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Pavelski about their head coaching position as they begin the second phase of their interview process for the job, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on his podcast Sunday, citing multiple sources.

The report, on his “32 Thoughts” podcast, adds that Pavelski, who has a Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy resume with 1,068 points in 1,332 career NHL games, is not "shying away from the possibility" of coaching the Leafs, according to sources.

Pavelski, who turns 42 next month, retired after the 2023-24 season and spent this past year as the head coach of his son's team, the 15U AAA Madison Capitols in his native Wisconsin.

New Leafs general manager John Chayka has been searching for a new coach since he fired Craig Berube from the position on May 13 after two seasons. The Leafs lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in the second round of last year's playoffs and failed to reach the postseason this spring.

Chayka is casting a wide net, saying at the NHL draft combine that 55 people were on his list or inquired about the job, adding that he would cut that number to 20 or so names in the coming days. Pavelski is expected to be part of that second group, Friedman reported.

Pavelski's candidacy was likened to that of Martin St. Louis, a Hockey Hall of Famer who was hired as the Montreal Canadiens’ interim coach in Feb. 2022 despite having limited coaching experience. Before joining the Canadiens, St. Louis, 50, was an assistant coach with his son's team, the Mid Fairfield Rangers U13 AAA team, in Connecticut during the 2021-22 season.

But since St. Louis was hired, the Canadiens have a regular-season record of 163-155-47 and have made the playoffs the past two seasons, reaching the Eastern Conference final last month before losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Like St. Louis, Pavelski beat the odds to have a stellar NHL career.

St. Louis went undrafted and had 1,033 points in 1,134 games over a 16-year career that included a Stanley Cup and a Hart Memorial Trophy in 2004. Pavelski, drafted in the seventh round by the Sharks in 2003, had 476 goals in 1,332 regular-season games and 71 goals in 201 playoff games in his 18-year career.

Pavelski was the Sharks captain from 2015 to 2019 before he left San Jose after 13 seasons and signed as a free agent with the Dallas Stars. Pavelski spent the final five years of his playing career in Dallas, reaching the Cup final in 2020.

Recently, Vegas Golden Knights forward Tomas Hertl credited Pavelski, his Sharks teammate from 2013 to 2019, for helping him break out of a 29-game goal-scoring drought, which ended during a game last month against the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the playoffs.

"I had like 30 minutes to talk with him, and he actually helped me a lot, because we've been pretty close and he's a great goal scorer, been through a lot, and he called me and talked to me about just what to do," Hertl said. "And I think (after) I was (talking) with him, the next day was the Anaheim game, and I scored (my) first goal, so it was really nice from him. And he's still texting me.”

Following his retirement, Pavelski said he was contacted by Sharks general manager Mike Grier about a possible return to the team's lineup. That didn't happen, of course, but the door appeared open for Pavelski to return to the Sharks organization in some fashion. Pavelski is also an avid golfer, having won the American Century Championship on the shores of Lake Tahoe in 2025.

"I like (hockey). We talk," Pavelski said in Nov. 2024 when asked about returning to the Sharks. "Dallas, there's been a few teams that call and always offer something. But these first few years, it's going to be all about the family, being around, and taking a step back a little bit."

We'll see if that changes for Pavelski, who was one of the NHL's most respected players during his prolific career.

"Joe is/was as close to the perfect teammate as you can get," former Sharks captain Logan Couture said after Pavelski's retirement. "You would be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say something negative about him."

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This story was originally published June 7, 2026 at 12:04 PM.