The Toronto Maple Leafs may have found their most intriguing head coach candidate yet
Tinus Luc Koblar is pushing into Toronto's summer picture just as Craig Berube's exit keeps the Maple Leafs focused on bigger changes.
Koblar gave Norway another strong game Tuesday, scoring in a 4-0 win over Italy and continuing a run that is getting harder for Toronto to ignore.
The 2026 second-round pick now has 2 goals and 3 points through 3 games at the World Championship.
That kind of early offensive touch matters for a player Toronto took as a surprise swing.
He is not doing this on the edge of the lineup, either.
Koblar has played a central role for Norway, and that gives the Leafs another prospect to track closely heading toward camp.
The next test is the one that really counts.
Norway is set to face Canada on Friday, which puts Koblar against NHL talent like Morgan Rielly and John Tavares.
That is where the notebook shifts from prospect buzz to the bigger story in Toronto. The Leafs are still filling the most important opening in the organization.
Derek Lalonde is now part of that search.
David Alter reported that Toronto will interview the current Leafs assistant for the head coaching vacancy.
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Lalonde moves into the Leafs coaching mix
Lalonde joined Toronto's staff in June 2025 after spending parts of 3 seasons as Detroit's head coach. He was let go midway through the 2024-25 season.
What keeps his name alive is the penalty kill.
Toronto finished at 81.2 percent there this season, good for eighth in the NHL, and Lalonde was widely tied to that work.
It still feels like a check-the-box interview unless he blows the room away.
Berube is gone, there is no permanent replacement in place, and John Chayka has room to cast a wide net.
That also explains why other names keep surfacing around this opening.
Jay Woodcroft, David Carle, and Manny Malhotra have all been discussed as serious options for the next bench boss.
So this is where Toronto stands right now.
Koblar is giving the front office a prospect story worth tracking, while Lalonde's interview shows the Leafs are still sorting out what kind of voice they want behind the bench.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 18, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Greenway | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Beck Malenstyn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Owen Power | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
| Bowen Byram | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||