TORONTO — The Maple Leafs have hired Guy Boucher and Mike Van Ryn as assistant coaches, the Toronto organization announced in a statement Thursday morning.
They will join assistants Dean Chynoweth and Manny Malhotra, goalie coach Curtis Sanford, and video coaches Jordan Bean and Sam Kim on the staff who will support Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“Following the departure of Spencer Carbery, who became head coach of the Washington Capitals, I was excited to add experienced and seasoned coaches such as Guy and Mike to my staff,” Keefe said. .
The head coach also revealed that Boucher will be in charge of the power play for the Maple Leafs. He does not hide that expectations are high for a unit that ranked second in the NHL with a success rate of 26% last season. The Leafs were second only to the Edmonton Oilers with their impressive 32.4% power-play success rate.
“Guy has great skills and he’s very passionate about the power play. I’ve known him for a while and we’ve been chatting for a few years. I know he is passionate about this subject,” Keefe argued.
“He is very enthusiastic about this new challenge. We’ve had a good power play in the past few years, so expectations are high. So I had to bring someone with experience who I would be able to work with. “
“It’s not just his passion, but he has a great philosophy for recognizing the strengths of our power play unit and building from those elements. ”
Boucher, 51, was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning from 2010 to 2013, and the Ottawa Senators from 2016 to 2019, going 191-186-46 as a as head coach in the Bettman circuit. Under Boucher, the Lightning notably reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011. He also led the Senators to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017.
Before joining the Senators, the Quebecer had spent three seasons in Switzerland (from 2013 to 2016), where he acted as head coach of SC Bern, in the Swiss A League. The team compiled a 44-29-5 record under his leadership.
Boucher also coached the Montreal Canadiens in the American Hockey League in 2009-10, leading them to a 52-17-11 record. And he rolled his bump in the junior ranks, notably being head coach of the Voltigeurs de Drummondville (2006 to 2009), he also contributed to their conquest of the Gilles-Courteau trophy, awarded to the champion team of the LHJMQ , in 2008-09, and assistant coach of the Rimouski Oceanic (2004 to 2006) and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (2000-01).
For his part, Van Ryn, who is 44 years old, joins the Maple Leafs after being an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues for five seasons, from 2018 to 2023. Van Ryn notably won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019.
