The Hall of Famer played for Berube during his time with the Philadelphia Flyers.

During a heated on-ice moment in the early 2010s between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers, retired NHL defenseman Chris Pronger shared a memorable story on The Cam & Strick Podcast Tuesday about former Leaf Colton Orr showing respect to newly appointed Leafs head coach Craig Berube – who served as an assistant coach for the Flyers at the time.

“When he got fired in Philly I didn’t really understand it,” Pronger said, as then general manager Ron Hextall parted ways with Berube. “Hexy wanted his own guy in there. But I like Chief (Berube). I had him as an assistant coach there, and obviously played against him for a long time.”

Looking back on a particular incident that showcased the respect Berube commanded, he stated, “It was funny though. This was when Colton Orr was in Toronto and he was kind of running the roost, right? He’s coming by our bench and he’s motherf****ng everybody. ‘What are you f****ng doing?’ He was like ‘I’m not talking to you, Chief’. I mean, as he’s going at it, he saw Chief, I think they locked eyes, ‘I’m not talking to you’.” 

Berube, who had a long and respected career as an enforcer before transitioning to coaching, clearly left an impression on players like Orr – who made his money playing with a similar style of toughness. From a broader perspective, it also offers a glimpse into the character of Berube, a figure respected by his peers both on and off the ice.

Berube was hired as the Maple Leafs’ 32nd head coach in franchise history on May 17, 2024. At 58 years old, the ‘Chief’ was formerly the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons (2013-15) before spending six seasons as the bench boss with the St. Louis Blues, where he compiled a regular season record of 206-132-44 (.597). 

He won a Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019, their first in franchise history, and was named a finalist for the 2019 Jack Adams Award. In 543 regular season games as an NHL head coach, Berube has a record of 281-190-72 (.584). 

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