Maple Leafs On the Verge of Losing Key Member From Their Coaching Staff

It's wholeheartedly expected that the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to undergo a lot of changes from their front office to player personnel after yet another disastrous playoff run.

While they technically executed their longest post-season run in over 2 decades by taking the Florida Panthers to 7 games in the second round, the way they lost, especially in Games 5 and 7, will force MLSE to make serious changes.

We've heard about the rumours surrounding team president Brendan Shanahan as well as core members like Mitch Marner and John Tavares, however we can now add a key member of the coaching staff to that list with the Seattle Kraken seeking permission.

The Kraken are currently in the midst of finding a new head coach and in doing so they have sought permission from the Leafs to speak with associate coach Lane Lambert. Toronto has granted that permission as Seattle looks to fill that void once again this summer, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

The 60-year-old Lambert joined Craig Berube's coaching staff this year after having spent the previous 6 years on Long Island as both associate coach and head coach between 2018-19 and 2023-24. He had also spent 7 years before that as an assistant coach in Washington and Nashville.

Despite entering the league in 2021, the Kraken are already in search of their third head coach in franchise history. They had previously employed former Leafs assistant coach Dave Hakstol between 2021-22 and 2023-24 and then parted ways with Dan Bylsma after just one year.

As Dreger mentions, Lambert isn't the only candidate the Kraken are looking into as they are also interested in Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love and Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach David Quinn.

However, should they be impressed by Lambert during their interview process, the Leafs could be on the lookout for a new associate coach on top of everything else ahead of their 2025-26 season.