Maple Leafs cut ties with coach after just 1 season.

It would appear as though the Toronto Maple Leafs were not overly satisfied with what they saw from veteran National Hockey League coach Guy Boucher this past season.

On Saturday, the Maple Leafs officially announced that they were cutting ties with Boucher after just one season behind the bench. Boucher joined the coaching staff of now former Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe for the 2023-24 NHL season, and one has to wonder if things could have played out differently for Boucher had Keefe himself kept his job.

Boucher, a defensive specialist, did coax some of the best defensive hockey the Maple Leafs have played out of this current iteration of the Maple Leafs roster this season, something that was noticeable at times during the playoffs in spite of the team's eventual lack of success.

Prior to joining the Maple Leafs Boucher had served as the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for parts of 3 seasons.

The news will come as relatively little surprise to those that have kept their ear to the ground as far as the rumor mill is concerned. Earlier this month I reported on the rumors of another former NHL head coach joining the Maple Leafs' coaching staff, with NHL insider Darren Dreger suggesting at the time that both Boucher and Dean Chynoweth were the most likely candidates to be replaced.

Lane Lambert was added to the coaching staff earlier this month, which lines up with Dreger's reporting. At that time however the Maple Leafs made the move to cut ties with Dean Chynoweth, which could suggest that there may be another announcement coming soon from the Maple Leafs as it pertains to Berube's new coaching staff.