Toronto Maple Leafs Name Craig Berube Head Coach – Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that they have brought in Craig Berube to become the team's 32nd head coach. There were many rumors that he would join the Leafs bench, and this move has been made official. He succeeds head coach Sheldon Keefe who was fired on May 9 following Toronto's Round 1 loss to the Boston Bruins. While Keefe is not entirely to blame, it is clear that the team needed a new leader behind the bench.

While Berube was the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-15, he is best known for his tenure as the head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. Louis Blues where he went 281-190-72 in six seasons. He won the Stanley Cup in his first season with the team and went to the playoffs just three times since. After missing the playoffs in the 2022-23 season and struggling to start the 2023-24 season, the Blues parted ways with Berube. Now a few months later, he's getting a gig as the head coach of one of the most scrutinized teams in the NHL.

Besides coaching, Berube has experience as a player. He played 17 seasons in the league, appearing in 1,054 games, 40 of which were for the Maple Leafs in the 1991-92 season where he scored five goals and 12 points. Now back in Toronto, he'll be in a tough position to bring playoff success to an Original Six franchise that hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

As the Maple Leafs make their first major decision of the offseason, fans should expect many more moves to come. Whether it's trading Mitch Marner or bringing in a star goaltender, it's clear from the Maple Leafs management's point of view that change is needed to bring Toronto its 14th Stanley Cup. For now, fans will have to wait to see how the coaching staff fares and which players will be left out next season.