TORONTO - Whether the search for a new Marlies coach to replace Dallas Eakins goes through Toronto will be known in a few days.
A source familiar with Eakins’ imminent hiring by the Edmonton Oilers says he’ll interview their current assistants, ex-Oilers Kelly Buchberger and Steve Smith, early this week about their positions before making any case to management to recruit one or both of his long-time Marlies staffers Gord Dineen and Derek King.
Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish is also high on bringing in an associate coach with NHL experience, which many think an NHL rookie such as Eakins needs to shepherd him through the first couple of seasons. And the Oilers remain one of the league’s most hardcore old boys club, still valuing connections to its dynasty years, such as Buchberger and Smith.
All of that work could work against Dineen and King moving west, and if so, they’d presumably get interviews with Toronto general manager Dave Nonis. Eakins and the Leafs’ brass have been tight lipped since Saturday when MacTavish made the surprise announcement to fire Ralph Krueger after 48 games, followed by multiple reports Eakins was next in line.
Dineen has the most experience of the two Marlies, as an AHL coach with Anaheim’s farm team in Iowa before his four-year stint with the Marlies. The 50-year-old comes from a playing/coaching family that includes father Bill and brother Kevin, now piloting the Florida Panthers.
The Marlies are ex-Leaf King’s first high-profile assignment, yet Eakins gave both assistants their props for the team’s record of 157-114-15-26, its playoff success with a Calder Cup appearance last year and a long list of Leafs grads since 2011.
Where Nonis and vice-president of hockey operations Dave Poulin go from here with a new mentor for Leafs prospects is intriguing. The Leafs only started to churn out legitimate NHLers again under Eakins’ watch and a new group led by Morgan Rielly and fellow first-rounders Joe Colborne, Carter Ashton, Tyler Biggs and Stuart Percy is incubating.
But Nonis also knew that Eakins’ star was on the rise and that he’d be sought by any number of teams this summer with a window in his Leafs contract. A source said Nonis had a list ready to pursue the day Eakins departed and is paring it already. Where the current assistants fit is not known or if one of the assistants Randy Carlyle inherited after Ron Wilson’s firing, Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon, might opt for a new path by taking a step down. They would at least be familiar with Carlyle’s gameplan, which the new Marlies boss must be ready to embrace.
“Dallas gave them the perfect template and they continually got better,” said Marlies/Leafs TV analyst Bob McGill.
The high-paying, high-exposure Toronto job will be a sought-after position outside the organization. A veteran NHL executive who has hired many minor-league head coaches said teams don’t necessarily look right away for the eventual successor to the parent team’s post.
“It could depend on the best candidate available,” the exec said. “It could be a young, developing coach with potential for the NHL, or a veteran minor leaguer with a good track record that gets more consideration.”
As for losing Eakins, he gave the Leafs everything in his motivational manual, going back to his playing days as a scrappy defenceman at the Gardens and his time in the Leafs player development office. His contributions helped the club turn the corner and establish their long-desired “identity.”
Whether the Leafs let the next Mike Babcock get away as some fans fear won’t be known for a few years. Carlyle is a Cup winner, who made his mark and might be running against Rob Ford for mayor if not for 10 troubling minutes in Boston last month. Meanwhile, many fans in Edmonton can’t believe their young horses, five of them top 10 draft picks, have been handed over to a newcomer.
Ideally, success for both clubs going forward would make everyone happy about how Eakins’ Toronto tenure ended.
