The Toronto Maple Leafs held initial conversations with University of Denver head coach David Carle about their vacancy behind the bench, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.
The Leafs talked to Carle to gauge his interest, Friedman reports, and it's unclear if the 36-year-old wants to leave his post with the Pioneers. Carle has previously been contacted by numerous NHL teams but has opted to stay in the collegiate ranks.
He's long been viewed as one of the top up-and-coming coaching candidates outside the NHL. Carle's guided Denver to three national championships in the past five seasons and coached the United States to back-to-back gold medals at the world juniors in 2024 and 2025.
Carle signed a multi-year contract extension with Denver last May.
The Maple Leafs fired head coach Craig Berube after two seasons in the role. Toronto won the Atlantic Division and advanced to the second round of the playoffs in Berube's first campaign but missed the playoffs this past season with a 28th-place finish.
The club also fired general manager Brad Treliving in March and subsequently hired John Chayka and Mats Sundin to run the front office.
The Maple Leafs are conducting a "big search" for their next head coach, and it's too soon to identify any favorites for the position, Friedman reports.
