It took some time to hash it all out, but the Toronto Maple Leafs have finally made a decision on the future of Craig Berube.
After just two years in charge, the team announced on Wednesday morning that Berube had been relieved of his duties as head coach.
New GM John Chayka released the following statement on the matter, praising Berube for the coach and person he is, while suggesting the move signals a broader organizational shift.
“Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person. This decision is more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig. We are grateful for his leadership, professionalism and commitment to the Maple Leafs organization and wish Craig and his family nothing but the best moving forward,”
The 60-year-old Berube had two years remaining on the four-year, $18 million contract he signed to take over in Toronto in 2024. He went a combined 84-62-18 across 164 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, which included taking last year’s Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to Game 7 of the second round.
This is Chayka and Sundin’s first major move since arriving in Toronto, and they’ll have plenty more work ahead of them in the coming weeks and months. The Maple Leafs now join the Los Angeles Kings—and potentially the Edmonton Oilers, who appear to have given up on Kris Knoblauch—as teams around the league searching for a new bench boss.
Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun has since listed numerous candidates for the job in Toronto, including Bruce Cassidy, Patrick Roy, Manny Malhotra, Todd Nelson, Jay Woodcroft, Dean Evason, David Carle, Jay Leach, and Derek Lalonde. It’s also fair to wonder whether Knoblauch would be of interest should he become available, as many expect.
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