Just over a week since firing Sheldon Keefe, the Toronto Maple Leafs have chosen Craig Berube as their new coach.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' coaching search ends after eight days.
Craig Berube is the 32nd coach in Leafs history, the team announced Friday. He replaces Sheldon Keefe, who was relieved of his duties after parts of five seasons.
The Maple Leafs will be Berube's third NHL team as a coach. He was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers for seven seasons before being named head coach for part of 2013-14 and 2014-15.
He then joined the St. Louis Blues' coaching staff in 2017-18 and was named interim coach in 2018-19, leading the team to the Stanley Cup in a massive mid-season turnaround. The Blues removed the interim tag, and Berube coached parts of another five seasons before the team fired him on Dec. 12, 2023.
In total, Berube has 543 regular-season games of experience as an NHL head coach, with a 281-190-72 record. He also has a 27-30-1 record in the playoffs.
The 58-year-old from Calahoo, Alta., also has extensive playing experience under his belt, playing 1,054 NHL games between the Flyers, Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. He recorded 61 goals, 98 assists, 159 points and 3,149 penalty minutes, the seventh most in NHL history.
Earlier Friday, The Hockey News' Maple Leafs site editor David Alter cited Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman saying Berube was far down the road on the process of becoming the next coach after speaking with several candidates. Jack Adams Award winner Gerard Gallant and former Los Angeles Kings coach Todd McLellan had also been reported to have spoken with the Leafs.
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