Maple Leafs housecleaning extends to AHL level

As the hockey world continues to digest the news that Kyle Dubas will no longer be serving as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, also announced some executive changes. Coming shortly after the Dubas news, the Marlies announced that they would not renew the contract of their head coach, Greg Moore, nor those of assistant coaches A.J. MacLean and John Snowden.

After Sheldon Keefe made the move to the NHL during the 2019-20 season, Moore immediately took over behind the bench for the Marlies. In his first season, the Marlies finished with a 29-27-3-2 record, much worse than they had performed during the previous year under Keefe. The team did not improve much in the shortened 2020-21 season, either, going 16-17-0-2.

Although his team did not make the postseason at the end of the 2021-22 season, Moore helped the Marlies to their first winning record under his watch during that campaign, finishing 37-30-4-1, which put them in sixth place in the stacked North Division. This season, the Marlies were finally able to put it all together, finishing 42-24-4-2, which put them at the top of their division. The team made it all the way to the North Division Finals before losing to the Rochester Americans (Buffalo) in three games.

Due to the team’s incremental progression during Moore’s four-year span behind the bench, it would be a smart bet to expect Moore behind the bench of another team next season. Although the AHL season has not reached its end to this point, the Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit), Henderson Silver Knights (Vegas), and the Iowa Wild (Minnesota) all find themselves without a head coach for the 2023-24 season.

Coupled with the ouster of Dubas, this news seems to point to a new era of Maple Leafs’ hockey. The team has 10 players set for unrestricted free agency this July and will also need to make a decision on extensions for both Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Whatever the future holds for this organization, it is apparent that Toronto is set for a major shakeup this summer.