The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Craig Berube on Wednesday, ending his run less than two weeks after new general manager John Chayka and senior executive adviser Mats Sundin took over the hockey operation. Berube had two more seasons left on his contract.
Chayka said the move was “more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig,” while calling him “a tremendous coach and an even better person.” He also said the club was grateful for Berube’s leadership, professionalism and commitment to the organization and wished him and his family the best moving forward.
The decision comes after a season that fell apart for Toronto. The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016, and they were already reeling from the end of March firing of general manager Brad Treliving as the team slipped out of playoff contention. Under Berube this season, Toronto allowed 295 goals, the second-most in the NHL, while scoring 252 goals, which ranked 16th in goals for. The club’s scoring problems were magnified by Auston Matthews missing the end of the season with a knee ailment.
Berube’s tenure never fully escaped the shadow of what came before it, or what the Leafs failed to finish. Last year, Toronto reached the second round and then lost badly to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal. That loss raised the pressure on a roster built to contend immediately, and this season’s collapse left the front office with little room to argue for continuity.
Matthews’ own numbers underscored how much the season slipped. He fell from 69 goals in 2023-24 to 33 goals and then 27 goals in injury-marred years with Berube. Toronto now joins the Los Angeles Kings as the only two NHL teams with coaching vacancies, and the next coach will help determine the makeup of the rest of the staff. Bruce Cassidy was also among the coaches mentioned as available this offseason.
The Leafs did not make this move to settle one season’s score. They made it because the people running the club now want a different beginning, and they chose to signal that before the offseason even really starts.
