Report: Top Candidate for Maple Leafs Coaching Vacancy Craig Berube Interviewing With Jets

The Winnipeg Jets have reportedly engaged in talks with former St. Louis Blues Head Coach Craig Berube on Tuesday over the team’s head coaching vacancy behind the bench, according to DailyFaceoff's Frank Seravalli. 

On Tuesday, all indications are pointing to Berube sitting down with the Jets’ front office and management. With five current head coaching vacancies across the NHL, Craig Berube is among the top candidates available on the market. As reported on Saturday by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the Maple Leafs are believed to have met with Craig Berube on Saturday. In addition to his drawn interest from the Maple Leafs, Berube met with the Ottawa Senators before they hired Travis Green and the New Jersey Devils – who are still a possibility. 

After the Maple Leafs relieved former Head Coach Sheldon Keefe of his duties, Berube was considered a frontrunner out of the gate. Both the Maple Leafs and the Jets are looking to ‘get over the hump’ in the postseason with a veteran coach being the possible missing piece to the puzzle. 

Berube, a former player with over 1000 games of playing experience under his belt, understands what it takes to win. From a coaching standpoint, the Alberta native is direct and values both a blue-collar and accountable playstyle from his squad – the equation to postseason success. 

Berube recently won a Stanley Cup in the Central Division with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, defeating the Jets in the first round en route to one of the greatest success stories in the history of the sport. Behind the bench, split between time with the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues, he has coached a total of 543 regular season games with a record of 281-190-72. In the postseason, he is 27-31 and a valued Stanley Cup Champion with a plethora of experience.

The head coaching discourse is starting to heat up with Berube set to become one of the first candidates taken off the board. 

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