The Maple Leafs' new head coach is right under their nose

With all the talk about veteran NHL coaches and young guns behind the bench, one man deserves a real look for what he's done with the Toronto Marlies - John Gruden.

The Toronto Marlies are headed to the Calder Cup Finals after securing a berth with a 2-1 OT win over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on Sunday night. It was Easton Cowan who started things off, Artur Akhtyamov keeping things close, and Alex Nylander sending the team and fans home happy.

But a lot of credit has to be given to head coach John Gruden as well. He's someone who has stepped into the role in 2023-24 and finally earned his shot at glory. A calm but firm presence on the bench, Gruden always makes sure to say it as it is, credit his players, and admit faults when the team doesn't always pull it out.

John Gruden is the name no one knew about and now he's leading the Toronto Marlies into the Calder Cup Final

With the Maple Leafs looking for a new head coach, they've been going through the gamut and interviewed over 50 people initially before narrowing things down.

We've heard everyone from David Carle to Patrick Roy to Joe Pavelski but there's been no concrete decision yet on behalf of John Chayka and the Maple Leafs.

This is purely personal speculation, but perhaps that's by design because the team wants to give Gruden a chance to win before giving him a lot more responsibility. It's a lot of pressure already to lead a team into a championship.

It would be a bit foolish on the Maple Leafs' behalf to distract him with future opportunities - finish the playoffs then let's talk.

Former Maple Leafs defender Carlo Colaiacovo is a believer in Gruden, and gave him a lot of praise and thinks he deserves a real look and he may be onto something:

John Gruden should get consideration for Leafs head coach. What an amazing job he's done with the Marlies and no one knows the players in the system better than him.

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Colaiacovo brings up a good point in the fact that if the Maple Leafs are going to be using more AHL players or add more youth to their lineup, who better to lead them than the guy who just brought them to the Championship Finals?

John Gruden's AHL success translates perfectly for a new and revamped Maple Leafs roster

Many players on the Marlies are expected to fight for spots or already have them in the bank so getting their old head coach to keep the momentum and chemistry flowing is only a good thing.

Here's a few Marlies who could be/will be factored into the lineup next year:

- Easton Cowan
- Ben Danford
- William Villeneuve
- Alex Nylander
- Miroslav Holinka
- Borya Valis
- Luke Haymes
- Bo Groulx
- Artur Akhtyamov
- Dennis Hildeby

That's a whole lotta players who have familiarity with Gruden and his modern and fast-tempo approach to the game is exactly what the Maple Leafs need.

Not to mention there could be several names brought in via trade or free agency like Alex Tuch, Dougie Hamilton, or even a reunion with Bobby McMann. All of those players would work well under Gruden and his approach to the game can only make fans feel confident:

Back in 2023, Gruden's message to his players was simple and it fostered a winning culture that the Maple Leafs need after Craig Berube:

I want them to feel comfortable, I want them to be excited when they come here.

That's who you want when you have a young player like Gavin McKenna coming in, and it's no wonder that the Marlies have such a tight-knit brotherhood and united front - their coach is bringing them together and making it fun and exciting to come to the rink.

For his Marlies career, Gruden holds a 107-75-10 record since becoming coach in 2023-24 with every season having Toronto with a positive goal differential; which is something the Maple Leafs have struggled with heavily.

Toronto wanted experience and while Gruden isn't an NHL head coach previously, he has been an assistant coach before. He's obviously able to take a ragtag group of stars and role players and turn them into championship contenders.

That sounds like where the Maple Leafs are right now, so it's time to give Gruden the chance to do the same thing with them that he did with the Marlies.

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