Ahead of what could be his final game coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs, head coach Craig Berube expressed his love for the team.
The Maple Leafs take on the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night in the Battle of Ontario in what is the final game of the season for the Leafs. For the first time in nine seasons, the Leafs will not take part in the postseason. Given that the team won the Atlantic Division last year and came within one game of beating the Florida Panthers to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, this year has been nothing but a disappointment for everyone involved. To that end, there has been constant chatter that Berube may be fired when the season ends. If that happens, then Berube would join former General Manager Brad Treliving, who was fired last month, as casualties of a lost season.
But if Berube has it his way, he won’t be going anywhere. Speaking to reporters ahead of the Leafs’ final game of the season in Ottawa, Berube professed his love for the team and the city.
“I love it. I love Toronto. I love the Leafs,” Berube said. “Everybody talks about pressure and all this stuff. I think it’s great. For me, I’d rather have the pressure of having to perform and win than not have it.”
Craig Berube has 2 Years Left on his Contract
When the Leafs signed Berube to be the team’s head coach in 2024, they gave him a four-year contract to lead the team. The first year with Berube behind the bench was a grand success, as the Leafs won the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history. The Leafs then beat the Senators in six games in the first round, before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Panthers.
However, Berube’s second season behind the bench has been an utter failure, as the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Not only that, but Berube’s strategy and style were routinely criticized by pundits, as were his handling of the goaltending and several of the team’s young players. Although there were numerous points during the season where Berube was rumored to be fired, he made it through to the end of the year. But with Treliving being fired as the team’s GM, Berube figures to be the next to go, as the team’s next GM will likely want to pick their own head coach.
Berube Won the Stanley Cup With the Blues in 2019
One of the reasons the Leafs hired Berube was due to his pedigree of being a Stanley Cup-winning coach, having taken the St. Louis Blues to the promised land in 2019. When the Leafs fired former head coach Sheldon Keefe and replaced him with Berube, the hope was that he would take the Leafs to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1967, the last time they hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup. However, Berube likely won’t get a chance to do that, as he is heavily rumored to be let go at season’s end.
There is still a chance that the Leafs’ new incoming GM may retain Berube as the team’s leader, given he has two years left on his deal. But with the Leafs looking for a clean slate after firing Treliving, the odds are that tonight’s game against Ottawa will be the last time Berube stands behind the Leafs’ bench.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Craig Berube Expresses His Love For Coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared first on Heavy Sports.