Conflicting reports emerge around the Maple Leafs coaching search after Elliotte Friedman's update

Elliotte Friedman is pushing back on the news that Jay Woodcroft is interviewing with the Maple Leafs and if he's right, their search just got a lot harder.

Friedman is going back on his previous report that the Maple Leafs would be interviewing Woodcroft for their vacant head coaching position and it directly contradicts the numerous reports from several around the hockey world that said Woodcroft and Toronto were meeting.

Woodcroft would have been a great addition to the Maple Leafs organization especially knowing how well he managed a star-studded lineup and helped them excel offensively, but according to Elliotte Friedman - it's not in the cards right now.

Elliotte Friedman reports that Jay Woodcroft and the Maple Leafs aren't meeting after all

To everyone's surprise, Friedman noted on his most recent 32 Thoughts Podcast on Friday that the Maple Leafs had not yet asked permission to speak to Woodcroft, nor does Friedman think that the team is actually going to interview him at all:

I understand there were some reports he was going to interview. I don't believe that's the case, I do not believe Toronto hassled permission and it's very possible that Toronto doesn't talk to him. He's talked to LA, DJ Smith is too, but I heard for whatever reason he will not be interviewing in Toronto.

That's a huge blow to the Maple Leafs coaching search considering that the two frontrunners for the job were Woodcroft and University of Denver head coach David Carle. With Carle still a very tough acquisition, Woodcroft was potentially the next best shot for the team and now that's gone up in smoke.

If Toronto doesn't get the chance to acquire Carle or get close to him, and Woodcroft not in the cards, it now leaves John Chayka scrambling to find what he can do to find the right person for the job - but time is ticking away fast.

But if not him, then there's also potentially Manny Malhotra, Derek Lalonde, Mike Van Ryn, John Tortorella (he's not signed past this season) and their AHL head coach John Gruden. There's a lot of potential candidates though Carle remains the biggest fish.

Toronto's entire offseason is exactly like the Woodcroft situation and it's not a good sign

Speaking of Chayka, he too felt the rumours when the Maple Leafs were looking for their GM. We heard a laundry list of names like Mike Gillis, Chris Pronger, Ryan Martin, Evan Gold, even names like Brandon Pridham and Hayley Wickenheiser were all named as potential candidates in addition to Chayka.

They settled on Chayka in a surprising move while also adding Mats Sundin to the fold. But the misinformation didn't stop there, as we later learned that Pronger; who had stated he never interviewed with Toronto, actually had a lengthy discussion with MLSE CEO Keith Pelley.

Since the start of the offseason it's been rumour after rumour, report after report. We can only go by what's out there, but that information quickly gets debunked. Then you'll see a report that actually contradicts the debunking and it turns out that the original report had a lot more traction.

Do you see how confusing that can be to not only the media, but fans? No one really knows what's going on until it's announced, and the speculation while exciting at the forefront is actually an anxiety-riddled mindset hidden behind.

Fans are worried that the team may rush to make decisions if they can't get their desired pieces, and therefore lead into a season that is filled with a lot more questions than answers. That's not good for a fanbase who needs transparency, honesty, and definitive action.

Losing out on Woodcroft stings, but John Chayka has to have a backup plan because if not? His Maple Leafs tenure is already going to have a black mark on it before they even touch the ice.

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