Real reason for Guy Boucher's departure from Maple Leafs revealed

The Toronto Maple Leafs already made one notable franchise-altering personnel move in the wake of their latest Stanley Cup Playoff disappointment, dismissing head coach Sheldon Keefe and replacing him with former 2019 Stanley Cup winning coach Craig Berube.

Berube, who led the Blues to their first ever championship, was dismissed by the team earlier this season after a less than ideal first half of the campaign. Meanwhile, it didn't take Keefe long at all to find new employment, as he resurfaced almost immediately as the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils. 

In the meantime, the Leafs also made a notable coaching change, parting ways with assistant coach Guy Boucher while also hiring former New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert. 

And now, according to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, the reasoning behind Boucher's departure from Toronto has been made clear. Friedman indicated that essentially, Boucher wanted to be considered for the head coaching position, and left when it wasn't given to him.

"I think Boucher had indicated that if a coaching change was made he would like to be considered for the position," Friedman said on his latest '32 Thoughts' podcast. "I don't know how seriously Toronto did [consider it] or if he was a candidate."

In addition to having served as an assistant with the Leafs, Boucher also served as head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators, guiding both teams to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 and 2017, respectively. 

Don't be surprised to see him resurface elsewhere in short order, perhaps even in the Midwest as there is now a brand new head coaching vacancy with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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