Maple Leafs nearing head coach resolution?
Last Updated: Monday, June 2, 2008 | 5:58 PM ET
CBC Sports
Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher reportedly wants Ron Wilson as head coach. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)The Toronto Maple Leafs are in negotiations with Ron Wilson regarding their head coach position, CBC Sports has learned.
Hockey Night in Canada, citing league sources, reported on Saturday that the Maple Leafs had spoken the previous day with Wilson.
With hockey observers eyeing Toronto's vacancy intently, there have been no confirmed reports of other candidates being interviewed.
Wilson is scheduled to be in Toronto on Tuesday to meet with interim general manager Cliff Fletcher, among others.
Wilson was fired by the San Jose Sharks on May 12 after nearly five seasons with the club.
The Sharks finished with at least 99 points in each of his full four seasons, but didn't manage to reach the Stanley Cup final.
Wilson previously coached the Washington Capitals and Anaheim, then called the Mighty Ducks, and has an overall record of 518-426-46, with 101 ties.
Toronto fired Paul Maurice after two seasons just days before San Jose let Wilson go.
The Maple Leafs have not made the playoffs since 2004, finishing out of the race in the three seasons since the NHL lockout.
Any coach hired imminently would be heading to a club whose front office situation has not been definitively settled.
Toronto met with former Vancouver general manager Dave Nonis about an unspecified position, but were reportedly denied permission on more than one occasion to talk to Brian Burke, currently under contract as general manager of the Anaheim Ducks.
Burke issued a statement following an April 23 meeting with Ducks owner Henry Samueli and chief executive officer Michael Schulman that he would stay on as Ducks GM for "at least one more year."
"Anaheim has made an excellent offer and they're wonderful people to work for," Burke reiterated Monday to Scott Oake of CBC Sports.
"There's some personal issues which you're familiar with, so we will see where it goes."
Burke's wife, Jennifer, reportedly quit her job with CBC's Living Vancouver, prompting speculation that he might resign as Ducks GM and resurface with the Maple Leafs.
Florida gets go-ahead to speak with Maurice
Fletcher took over as interim GM when John Ferguson Jr. was fired on Jan. 22, but one scenario would have him staying on in the position for at least another season.
"Am I interested in keeping it? Not permanently, no," Fletcher said on Monday. "But I'm prepared to continue as long as necessary until the issue is revolved favourably for our board."
Lawyer Gord Kirke, charged by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment with leading a search committee after Ferguson's firing, told the Canadian Press last week that he was hoping to hire a few qualified individuals for specialized roles within the front office, emulating the model most successfully employed by the Detroit Red Wings.
Meanwhile, Florida Panthers general manager Jacques Martin has been given permission to speak with Maurice about his club's coaching vacancy. Maurice has one year remaining on his Toronto contract.
Martin told the Palm Beach Post that Fletcher had again expressed interest in speaking with Joe Nieuwendyk about a front office position.
Nieuwendyk is under contract with Florida until July 1.
With files from the Canadian Press
