NHL Rumors: Could Rod Brind’Amour be an option for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
Was there a chance for Rod Brind’Amour to be a coaching option for the Toronto Maple Leafs
TSN: Pierre LeBrun and Jay Onrait if Rod Brind’Amour would have been an option for the Toronto Maple Leafs had he not extended with the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Onrait: “The Leafs, as you know, introduced Craig Berube as their new coach on Tuesday. What we got over the weekend.”
LeBrun: “Really?”
Onrait: “I know we did very little about it, but we touched you. And of course, then Rod Brind’Amour, of course, stays in Carolina on a five-year deal. And I know our mutual friend Jeff O’Neal, you know that as much respect as he had for Berube, he was very interested in the idea of Brind’Amour coming to Toronto.
And Jeff might be a little biased because he played with this guy but I think a lot of Leafs Nation was interested in the idea. Was there a sense that Pierre was too close to the Leafs and Brind’Amour?
LeBrun: “Yeah, yeah, Jay, here’s what I’m going to say. The timing of all these announcements and events is not coincidental. I mean, the Leafs announced, finalized and announced Berube on Friday. The Hurricanes have finalized their partnership with Brind’Amour, I’m trying to remember now I think Saturday night that’s right.”
Onrait: “That’s right.”
LeBrun: “It’s officially done until Sunday.”
Onrait: “Yes.”
LeBrun: “Then Berube has a news conference on Tuesday. So all these things kind of overlap.
What I can tell you with confidence is that at the very least, I think that if Rod Brind’Amour had left Carolina, the Leafs would have sought permission to at least talk to him.
I’m not saying it would be the boy but they would definitely want to find out what was going on there. And I think they had tabs on that whole situation before they finally ended things with the guy they liked from the beginning in Craig Berube.
So yes, it’s no coincidence that all these things were arranged that way. But Rod Brind’Amour is staying, he’s signed a five-year contract, which is a rarity these days…”
Onrait: “Yes.”
LeBruins: “…on the NHL coaching carousel.”
Onrait: “And he took care of his assistants without knowing that they were really important to him.”
