Paul McFarland Leaving Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for a new assistant coach once the 2019-20 season is completed. Paul McFarland, who was only brought in at the beginning of the year, will depart the organization after accepting a head coaching position with the Kingston Frotenacs of the OHL. Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe explained the organization’s support:

Paul has been a great member of our staff and I look forward to continuing our work together through to the conclusion of the 2019-20 season. Normally this type of move would be done during the off-season, but given that these are far from normal circumstances, we are in full support of Paul’s desire to pursue this position in Kingston and gain more experience as a head coach.

McFarland, 34, was the head coach of the Frontenacs for three seasons before spending three years in the NHL as an assistant. His time with the Florida Panthers and then Maple Leafs included running powerplays, where he created a name for himself as a strong offensive coach.

While returning to the OHL may be seen as a step backwards, there’s no doubt that McFarland is still an up-and-coming head coaching prospect for the NHL. One thing to remember in this instance is that he wasn’t actually hired by Keefe, who took over from Mike Babcock midseason.

Notably, McFarland will be taking over a program that has one of the next great prospects leading the way. Shane Wright, who was granted exceptional status and played much of this season with Kingston as a 15-year old, is in line to be a potential first-overall pick in 2022. The young center scored 39 goals and 66 points in just 58 games, despite several years younger than his opponents.