When the Toronto Maple Leafs belatedly moved on from Brad Treliving, the expectation was that Craig Berube would soon follow.
But he hasn’t. Berube remains behind the bench and will run out the clock on the 2025-26 season. The team has hardly looked like an NHL-caliber squad. Thursday night’s 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders was a blowout. The scoreboard didn’t reflect that only because Leafs’ rookie netminder, Artur Akhtyamov, was brilliant.
That said, fans have been wondering what the future holds for Berube. Maple Leafs CEO Keith Pelley kicked the can down the road by stating that it would be the next President of Hockey Operations and GM who would figure out what to do with Berube.
But why would Pelley boot Treliving and not dump Berube?
Leafs insider Jonas Siegel offered an interestingly plausible explanation. Keeping Berube in the fold, at least for now, offered some semblance of order.
“Ideally, the Leafs would have moved on from the general manager and the head coach at the same time. Pelley, however, opted to fire Treliving with two and a half weeks left in the season. Dumping Berube along with him would have only added to the dysfunction.”
Siegel’s right. Dumping both Treliving and Berube at the same time would have plunged the team into complete disarray. It’s not that the team is a bastion of structure and discipline. It’s that removing Berube would have only added further fuel to the chaos. In that situation, the organization risked alienating players who may have already checked out on the season.
That’s why keeping Berube became a necessity. As unsavory as it was, Berube has been the only thing keeping the Maple Leafs from the depths of the deep blue sea.
Maple Leafs to Determine Berube’s Future over the Summer
Berube’s future with the Maple Leafs is far from certain at this point. “Chief” is likely a lame duck at this point. In fact, it would be utterly mystifying if the organization brought Berube back next season.
Nevertheless, there would be a business case for keeping Berube in the fold next season. When organizations restructure, they seldom go scorched earth on their entire management staff. After all, someone needs to know how the pudding is made. Corporations typically take a staggered approach when restructuring. They may dump a top executive and keep functional managers beneath them. Then, the higher-ups decide if the lower-level execs remain or go.
That’s why, as implausible as it may seem, the Maple Leafs could keep Chief around for at least one more season.
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Toronto Needs Order and Structure Moving Forward
There’s no question that the Maple Leafs need structure and order moving forward. The organization as a whole cannot afford to let the entire team plunge into anarchy.
That said, there’s no telling just how much Berube has been able to maintain a cohesive unit this season. Fans have seen it. The eye test does not lie. The Leafs have hardly been a strong, united group. The club has frequently descended into a disjointed mess of players seemingly pulling in different directions.
Unless the Maple Leafs can find a coach that can come in and rally the team, it might actually be better to push the reset button with Berube at the helm. It might take a retreat somewhere in the mountains, singing Kumbaya around a campfire. The team needs to do something, anything, to turn the ship around next season.
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