Craig Berube has been chosen the 41st head coach in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs (Twitter link). According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, he will sign a four-year contract with the team the following season (Twitter link). On Tuesday, the group will formally present Berube to the media at a press conference.
This announcement brings an end to a head coaching quest that swiftly turned into a tale. On May 9, Sheldon Keefe was let go by the Leafs after his fourth First Round exit in five years with the franchise. Since then, Toronto has shown interest in a number of possibilities, including Rod Brind’Amour, the acting coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and Todd McLellan, the former coach of the Los Angeles Kings. Ultimately, though, it was evident that Keefe’s firing was directly related to the Leafs’ postseason performance. As a result, the team has appointed one of the few contenders to lead a Stanley Cup winning team to replace Keefe.
When Berube took over as head coach of the St. Louis Blues during the 2018–19 season, the team developed into a formidable force. Under his leadership, the Blues improved from a 7-9-3 start to an amazing 38-19-6 record. Thanks to the heroics of Berube and then-rookie goalie Jordan Binnington, St. Louis gained a lot of momentum heading into the postseason. These powers were sufficient to carry St. Louis through 26 playoff games, which is just two short of the longest run a team can have in the playoffs. The run ended in a Game 7 victory over the Boston Bruins, which gave the Blues franchise its first Stanley Cup.
In the four seasons that have passed since, Berube has led St. Louis to postseason participation each of the seasons 2020 through 2022, but the team has missed the last two playoffs.
Now, Berube will be joining a Toronto team that has far more celebrity than the Blues. With Tyler Bertuzzi reportedly about to return and Mitch Marner reportedly a trade candidate, it appears that the Leafs will still be making adjustments. However, Berube is clearly thrilled with the combination of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares. Berube is also a terrific fit for Toronto’s hard-working young forwards, Fraser Minten, Connor Dewar, and Matthew Knies. During his playing career, Berube racked up 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 games, and he translated that tough mentality into his coaching approach. His admiration for hard-hitting, physical hockey should, at the very least, represent a refreshing shift in thinking as Toronto prepares for yet another competitive postseason run the following year.