What about Ron?

On a day when two high profile coaches lost their jobs, the Toronto Maple Leafs should at the very least be seriously considering extending the contract of their bench boss, Ron Wilson.

On Monday, Bruce Boudreau was fired as coach of the severely underachieving Washington Capitals while Paul Maurice was let go by the Carolina Hurricanes. For Maurice, it’s the second time he’s walked the plank in Carolina.

Through 24 games, the Maple Leafs boast the NHL’s third-best record with only the Pittsburgh Penguins and born-again Chicago Blackhawks seeded ahead of them. What makes the Leafs early success so remarkable is the fact they have done it without some of their best players, including No. 1 goalie James Reimer, who has been out since Oct. 22. That night, in Toronto’s seventh game of the year, Reimer was slammed into by Montreal’s Brian Gionta. He suffered concussion-like symptoms, but has been practicing with the team and appears nearly set to return.

Colby Armstrong, a solid two-way force, has dressed for just five games and hasn’t played since Oct. 19 when he went down with a high ankle sprain.

Veteran defenceman Mike Komisarek is out with a broken arm.

Others who have been out for various lengths of time include Mike Brown, Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Tyler Bozak and Matthew Lombardi.

And yet the Maple Leafs continue to prosper in a way they haven’t in a long, long time.

One could easily make the case that Boudreau’s greatest failing this season with the Capitals was his inability to light a fire under the tush of slumping superstar Alexander Ovechkin. Boudreau’s priority the past two years was to get The Great 8 to play more of a team game with an accent on being more responsible defensively and using his teammates more.

Not a bad thought, really, but not only did the change in philosophy fail to bring the Capitals the desired success, such as a championship or even a trip to the Stanley Cup final, Ovechkin has been a shell of his former self. He has lost the magic that once had him neck-and-neck with Sidney Crosby as the game’s best player.

Ovechkin, who has led the league in goal-scoring twice and points once, currently ranks 47th in NHL scoring with eight goals and 17 points. His minus-7 is second worst on the team.

It had become increasingly evident that Ovechkin had tuned out Boudreau and when a team’s top player and coach don’t get along, there’s usually only one solution – the coach goes.

In Carolina, Maurice was having similar difficulties coaxing the best out of his team’s best player, center Eric Staal, who has only five goals and 11 points and is a team-worst minus-17. You have to think Maurice’s failure to get Staal back to being one of the best young players in the league was directly tied to his dismissal.

In Toronto, Wilson is having no such problem.

In fact, his team’s best scorer – Phil Kessel – is having a standout season. Although he hasn’t connected for a goal in the past three games, Kessel continues to lead the NHL in goals (16) and points (31).

So, if a coach’s fate can be linked to the inability of his team’s best player to produce, why can’t it also be connected when the best player is succeeding?

Now before you hit send on that nasty e-mail you just wrote informing me of Wilson’s failure to get the Leafs into the playoffs during his first three years in Toronto when his combined record was 101-107-38, don’t bother. That is hardly a news flash. Nor, at this point is it relevant.

Wilson did not enjoy success in his first three seasons behind the bench and the Leafs were well within their rights to withhold a contract extension until everyone got an idea of how this season would go.

This is the first season in which Wilson has been given a legitimate roster of players that actually has a chance to succeed and he’s making the most of it. The Leafs are full value for what they have accomplished this season and Wilson is due some credit.

In other words, Wilson is making the most of the hand he has been dealt.

Wilson has coached 1,361 NHL games. He has taken the Washington Capitals to the Stanley Cup final (1998); coached Team USA to a gold medal in the inaugural World Cup of Hockey (1996) and guided the United States to a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Of course there’s always the possibility the Leafs could go into the tank and miss the playoffs for a seventh straight year.

I’m not sure if this is actually true, but I was told Leafs GM Brian Burke wanted to extend Wilson’s deal in the summer, but did not get the blessing from his superiors at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. That sounds pretty reasonable.

I think it’s time Burke once more wanders down the hallway of the club’s Air Canada Centre offices looking for permission to extend Wilson’s contract once and for all.

The coach has earned it.

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy will cover the Toronto Maple Leafs for sportsnet.ca for the 2011/12 season.