Craig Berube smiled during Tuesday’s press conference at Ford Performance Centre, when the Toronto Maple Leafs presented him as the 32nd head coach.
But that took a while. Berube remained stoic as Leafs GM Brad Treliving outlined the process that led to his appointment, which included interviews with up to nine candidates following Sheldon Keefe’s sacking. Berube gave a brief introduction.
When president Brendan Shanahan asked about fighting Berube during their overlapping playing days, Berube eventually broke down and revealed his pearly whites. needed a different delivery, a difference voice giving the delivery, and Craig comes at it a different way,” Treliving said. “I’ve been here a year but I understand, we’ve been here as an organization for a number of years. You’ve got to keep knocking on the door, knocking on the door, and to me you find every different avenue, whether it be from a coaching standpoint, player personnel, tactical, every other way to push through that door.
When we started this process we were very fortunate to have somebody of Craig’s ability available. That doesn’t happen all the time. And I just think he’s a great match, a perfect fit for the group where we’re at right now.”
So what will that fit look like, exactly? It’s not a matter of simply turning Berube loose for some rousing speeches, obviously. Their playing style will change, too. We can expect the Leafs to adopt more of a lunchpail mentality as a complement to their considerable skill.
Really, that transition began before Berube arrived, with Treliving making this team bigger, stronger and tougher. Against Boston in Round 1, the Leafs were equal to the physical side of the series, dishing out at least as much punishment if not more. When you add the likes of Joel Edmundson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Simon Benoit, Ryan Reaves, Max Domi, Tyler Bertuzzi and more over the course of a year, that’s going to happen. But the Leafs were still ultimately outworked and defeated by a Bruins team that had…Morgan Geekie as its first-line center.
The Leafs were meaner in 2023-24 but regressed defensively and underachieved relative to their talent. And perhaps that’s where Berube will help most. He’s arguably never coached a group with more raw ability than this one, and he’ll try to light a spark in them.
“We don’t want to get outworked, ever,” Berube said. “We want to be highly competitive every night. And it’s all about the team for me. That’s one of the things I really focus on, and that’s part of building the team. Everybody’s important, everybody’s got to be used, they all have jobs and roles.
We want to play a north game, we want to play fast, we want to be a heavy team. When I talk about heaviness, it’s not running guys through boards and fighting and all that stuff. The game’s changed. But you still have to be strong on pucks, you’ve got to win puck battles. Those are priorities for me.”
So how will Treliving shape this team to meet Berube’s needs as a coach? The Toronto brass wouldn’t tip their hand Tuesday. Matthews and fellow fresh contract extendee William Nylander aren’t going anywhere. But the poster child for failing to fight through when things become more difficult in the playoffs is, of course, Marner. Trading him, which could require him to waive his no-movement clause, could kickstart a rebuild of the team’s culture. Does he stay or go? Toronto’s offseason is off to a busy start, and it is nowhere near done.