Jay Leach Emerges as Maple Leafs Candidate for Bruins Job

jay leach is back in the coaching conversation, and the Toronto Maple Leafs could take a look at him as a replacement for Craig Berube. He was also a candidate for the Boston Bruins’ new head coach job before the Bruins chose Marco Sturm instead.

Leach and Boston

Leach has been with the Bruins for the past two seasons and served as their defensive coach in the 2024-25 season. He was one of the holdovers from Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco’s staff, but Marco Sturm brought in Steve Spott for the 2025-26 coaching staff, leaving Leach close to the outside of Boston’s new setup.

That shift fits the broader arc of his time in the organization. Leach was with the Bruins from 2016 to 2021, spending four seasons as head coach of the Providence Bruins before moving on to the Seattle Kraken as an assistant coach for three seasons. His return to Boston brought him back into the NHL coaching mix, but not into a secure long-term spot.

Pagnotta’s Read on Leach

David Pagnotta said Leach was in the running for a more prominent job last summer and that he almost never made it onto the Bruins’ 2025-26 staff. That makes the Maple Leafs link more than a stray rumor. Boston already passed on him for its top job, and now another Original Six team could be weighing him for its own opening.

The Bruins’ choice also adds another layer. Leach had been a recurring name in talk about a promotion to the Boston head coaching job, but the team went with Sturm. For Leach, that leaves a path that could still move upward without coming through Boston.

Leafs Opening, Bruins History

The Toronto angle centers on a possible replacement for Berube, and Leach’s background gives them a coach who has worked both inside the Bruins system and in Seattle. His defensive results in Boston have not gone overly well, and the Bruins’ defense became the team’s undoing in the playoffs, so any team looking at him will have to balance that record against his rise through two organizations.

For now, Leach sits at the intersection of two coaching searches: Boston already made its choice, while Toronto could still decide whether his name belongs in its own process. That is the step forward here — a Bruins assistant who was close to Boston’s top job now has a second opening attached to his name.