Maple Leafs want Joe Pavelski despite limited coaching history originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have considered just about any head coaching candidate you can think of.

The latest name on the list is a big one, and a fascinating one: Joe Pavelski.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Sunday that Pavelski is "on the Maple Leafs' radar as the team begins the next phase of its interview process."

Friedman compares a potential Pavelski hire to when the Montreal Canadiens hired Martin St. Louis.

Pavelski has coached his son Nate "at the youth level" in Madison, Wisconsin, according to Friedman.

"It’s an interesting twist, as Toronto backed away from some other candidates due to a lack of experience," Friedman writes.

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"It also shows the deep respect so many in the sport have for Pavelski. It’s hard to handicap his chances of getting the job, but they are interested in him, and those same sources indicate he’s not shying away from the possibility."

Pavelski, 41, is an all-time great player who skate in 1,332 NHL games and finished with 476 goals and 592 assists.

He was just a seventh-round pick by the San Jose Sharks but became one of their best-ever players. He wrapped up his career with the Dallas Stars, and probably could've kept playing if he had wanted to.

Bringing in a guy like Pavelski would likely gain immediate respect from the players in the room who competed against him and followed his career growing up.

It'd be outside the box, but maybe that's the way the Maple Leafs ought to be thinking about this.