The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their new bench boss. Adam Proteau looks at what comes next.
The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube as their new bench boss. Adam Proteau looks at what comes next.
The Toronto Maple Leafs ended rampant speculation about their vacant coaching position late Friday afternoon by announcing former St. Louis Blues coach Craig Berube will replace Sheldon Keefe behind their bench.
Berube’s no-guff approach and Stanley Cup-winning pedigree were massive selling points for Leafs GM Brad Treliving and team president Brendan Shanahan. Now, Berube will be tasked with putting his stamp on the Buds, on and off the ice.
Here’s what fans should expect to see in Toronto as the Berube Era begins:
1. New Associate and Assistant Coaches
Every new coach is involved with hiring assistants who share in their vision for a team, and Berube will want to move quickly to establish the coaches who’ll share the bench with him.
The Leafs had no shortage of assistants under Keefe – including veterans Guy Boucher, Mike Van Ryn, Manny Malhotra and Dean Chynoweth.
While some have linked former NHLers Steve Ott and Marc Savard as potential assistants in Toronto, both of them are under contract to other teams and would need permission to leave to take a Leafs job. Van Ryn might be the one coach who sticks around, as he has experience with Berube under his belt.
Toronto’s abject failure in the power-play department in the 2024 playoffs could mean the end of the line for Boucher, the man in charge of it. Savard’s experience as a crafty offensive force makes him a viable candidate to take over the Leafs’ power play if he becomes available.
But regardless of who Berube and the team chooses as new assistants and associates, the coaching dynamic is going to change in this new era. The coaching carousel is spinning faster than ever. If the Buds have difficulty moving many of their veteran players this summer, the very least that will happen is a notably new group of hockey minds running things on the ice alongside Berube.
2. No Coddling of the Leadership Group
We’re not here to tell you Berube is going to strip captain John Tavares of the ‘C’ – that would be a humiliating process for a veteran who’s always had the best intentions as a team-first player.
But would he change things up in terms of alternate captains? We don’t think superstar center Auston Matthews will lose his ‘A’, and it’s also unlikely current alternate Morgan Rielly loses his leadership position. However, if winger Mitch Marner isn’t traded, we could see Berube taking him out of the leadership mix with the message the team just wants Marner to focus on his duties as a performer and not an alternate.
Part of the appeal of Berube is his unwillingness to cater to the egos of his cornerstone players. And if that means putting Marner on his toes a bit more, that message would reverberate through the Leafs lineup. The days of coddling players in Toronto are over now that Berube is in charge, and the people he wants leading the way in the locker room are likely to change as well.
3. New Look Among Toronto’s Role Players
Many believe the Leafs will take a long, hard look at trading Marner, but that won’t be easy. What will be easier, though, is changing Toronto’s group of supporting cast members.
For instance, if we were center David Kampf and defenseman Timothy Liljegren, we’d now be prepared to be dealt before next season begins. Toronto did get more abrasive this season, but we expect that trend to ratchet up under Berube. Coaches want little more than a roster made in their image, and that’s what’s likely to happen in Leafs Land.
Ultimately, Trelivng’s job is to make significant alterations to Toronto’s lineup, but don’t think for a second that Berube won’t have some input in terms of the types of performers he wants playing for him. More grit and determination is coming to the Leafs, and Berube’s personality will be reflected in the players he surrounds the Buds’ core with.