The Washington Capitals are shopping for a new head coach and one hot name that could be available on the market is assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs Spencer Carbery. Of course General Manager Brian MacLellan can’t call him until after the Leafs season ends.
Right now they are up three games to one on the Tampa Bay Lightning with a big Game 5 in store tonight. They could make history thus making it a little longer for GMBM to make that phone call. But good luck to them.
Back in late March, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan released a list of up and coming potential head coaches that could be available next season. This list was helped with the help of 24 people polled. Those people work in and around the league.
Kaplan said this about Carbery:
"The 41-year-old is one of the buzziest names on the coaching circuit — and that’s even before he landed in Toronto, center of the hockey media universe. A few respondents said to monitor Carbery as an option for the Capitals should they make a change. Carbery is thought highly of in the Caps organization after three years leading its top minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears. He has been a quick riser after winning ECHL Coach of the Year (2014) and AHL Coach of the Year (2021). Washington wanted to keep him on, but Carbery took an assistant job with the Maple Leafs in 2021. Since Carbery took over running the power play, Toronto has the league’s second-best man-up unit (behind Edmonton)."
The reason why Carbery is high among the Caps orbit is because of his success with the Hershey Bears prior to taking that assistant coaching gig with the Maple Leafs. He was with the Bears for three seasons and went 104-50-17 and had signed a multi year extension with the team before Sheldon Keefe called him from Toronto.
It would be a good hire I think. He would be great with the young guys, many of whom had already worked for him and he could lead the vets which is the number one thing GMBM wants in a new coach.