BY ROB MACNEIL - FAN FUEL BLOGGER
A constant hot topic amongst Toronto Maple Leafs fans is whether Ron Wilson should continue as head coach of the club. On Monday, I posed the question in our fan forums as to who should be the next coach of the Maple Leafs if Wilson was fired.
Fair to say there has been no shortage of debate. The contenders so far are Marlies head coach Dallas Eakins, and three veteran NHL coaches; Randy Carlyle, Marc Crawford and Jacques Martin. Yes, Jacques Martin.
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Do you agree? Here are comments from some of our fans in the forums. Please add yours at the bottom and continue the debate.
**Randy Carlyle and Jacques Martin are two coaches that have a solid defensive emphasis, which is maybe what the Leafs need after trying the "run and gun" style of Wilson for a few seasons now. Successful teams are never in the bottom of the league in goals against every season. - LeafsAlmighty
**1. J. Martin - proven track record of good PP, PK with team in situation like leafs. 2. Randy Carlyle - Stanley Cup. but we don't have a team go all the way yet. - hockey09
**Eakins and Carlyle would be my votes. I'd puke if I saw Jaques Martin as our bench boss. - GoLeafsGo19
**Was thinking about it the other day, a darkhorse candidate would have to be Marc Crawford. A former coach of Burke's, but more importantly has his teams play the high tempo run-and-gun style Burke (and myself) loves. Burke himself has said he wouldn't hire a coach whose systems are based on defence first as he feels it is not entertaining enough, particularly for the fans. - Beetlejuice
**Randy Carlyle, would be my choice. But if Wilson does get fired soon, IF, then the rest of the staff must go as well. They are all part of the problem. Eakins would be an excellent asst coach for special teams, IMO. - CaperLeaf
**I said in another thread; Guy Carboneau. He knows how to run a good penalty kill and a good team system. He's the kind of guy I'd want instead of Wilson. - LeafalCrusader
**Like most people have said, Carlyle or Eakins. If Wilson gets fired and they go with someone other than Eakins, I could see us losing Eakins. But Eakins would obviously be a big gamble. Some AHL call ups work out well (Bylsma/Boudreau) while others (probably most) fail miserably. Though Eakins is highly regarded, and not just by our organization. - tmleafer
What do you think? Please add your thoughts below.
Related read:
More Hockey: What happened to Leafs-Habs rivalry?
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