A major part of the offseason chatter surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs will be head coach Craig Berube’s future. That chatter won’t go away until the organization lets him go or confirms him for next season.
That said, let’s assume for a minute the organization keeps him around for one more season. While some fans might rightfully squirm at the notion, doing so wouldn’t be the craziest idea in the world.
On the whole, the Maple Leafs have shown that they can win under Berube. Oddly enough, those efforts have come with Auston Matthews out of the lineup. The reason for that seems to be that a Matthews-less team tends to rally more around Berube’s system, not the club’s seeming star power.
Plus, since the trade deadline “sell-off,” the team has utilized players from the Marlies. Jacob Quillan and Bo Groulx have gotten regular ice time. And they have not looked out of place. If anything, Quillan and Groulx have relished the opportunity to show they belong in the NHL.
Meanwhile, other beleaguered Maple Leafs have seen an uptick in their game. Matias Maccelli comes to mind. So does Nick Robertson. The Leafs’ former second-round pick from the 2019 NHL Draft has quietly had the best season of his career.
Other Maple Leafs like Dakota Joshua, Steven Lorentz, and John Tavares have seemed to find a step in their game. Does this mean that the Maple Leafs are all of a sudden a playoff team? That might be a bold statement. But the Leafs’ post-deadline play does offer some encouragement for next season.
Maple Leafs Can Thrive with Healthy Matthews
In a way, surrounding Matthews with a cast of gritty players like Groulx, Quillan, Troy Stecher, and giving others like Robertson increased responsibility could help the Maple Leafs thrive. The ultimate roster construction this season wasn’t really conducive to the sort of game plan that Berube promised to bring in when hired two summers ago.
A healthy Matthews would become the star the team can rally around, both as a leader and a star scorer. In a way, a solid supporting cast around Matthews could allow the former 60-goal scorer to go around the ice doing his thing. Such a cast wouldn’t force Matthews to do everything on his own. The support around him could unleash Matthews to return to his elite all-around play.
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Every season, the fans and media in Toronto look for a scapegoat. It happened to Jake Gardiner. Justin Holl got his turn. Nazem Kadri and Michael Bunting each got their fair share of Maple Leafs flak. Since there isn’t a player to single out this season, the proverbial ax will likely fall on Berube.
While an offseason overhaul is necessary, it shouldn’t begin with Berube. The Maple Leafs need a shakeup, there’s no question about it. But the fact of the matter is that feeding Berube to wolves won’t solve anything. The last 10 games or so have shown some encouraging signs. The Leafs need to move out one player or two to really send a message. The rest could just fall into place on its own.
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