Joe Pavelski responds to rumors linking him to the Maple Leafs and Oilers.

One of the biggest rumors in the National Hockey League has now officially been confirmed by the man at the center of it all, former NHL star forward Joe Pavelski.

Over the past several days and weeks, Pavelski has been linked as a surprise candidate to the Toronto Maple Leafs vacant head coaching position. While it has seemed a little far fetched, given that Pavelski has never coached at the professional level and has only coached minor hockey for a relatively short time, Pavelski recently informed reporters that the rumors are in fact real.

"It’s a process," admitted Pavelski as per The Mercury News. "They’re (being) very thorough. … They have a bunch of stuff on their end, and you’re just being patient and figuring out things on your end, so there’s not a lot to talk about right now."

It is no surprise that Pavelski is keeping things pretty tight lipped given the magnitude of this rumor and the reaction it would likely cause in a hockey crazed market like Toronto. That being said Pavelski freely admitted that he would be very interested in coaching a professional hockey team one day.

"So I do like the coaching side," admitted Pavelski. "I’ve always thought the game well. It was a strength of mine when I played. When the opportunity kind of came (from the Leafs) to explore it more, it was something I definitely wanted to entertain, and that’s where kind of the discussions have led."

There are of course other high profile coaching vacancies in the NHL right now, like the one behind the bench of the Edmonton Oilers, and Pavelski did admit that other potential avenues are something he is considering.

"We’re working through things like that," said Pavelski. "There’s a certain level of timing that comes into all this, and where my family’s at, and why certain things work (or) not. It’s something we’re not rushing into. We’re looking through on our end very thoroughly, and we’ll see where it goes."

Stay tuned for more on this extremely interesting and rapidly developing story.