Craig Berube shares amusing detail about his 2019 Stanley Cup ring

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Oct 25, 2024 01:48 GMT

The Toronto Maple Leafs are now led by head coach Craig Berube, who was terminated by the St. Louis Blues last season despite having been behind the bench for their first Stanley Cup win in 2019.

Berube and the Leafs are taking on the Blues on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. It is the first occasion that he's had the chance to face his former squad since being hired by Toronto following their termination of Sheldon Keefe. Despite the business of two important points in the standings, Berube still looks back with fondness on his time with the Blues.

"Obviously, you know, there's a lot of emotions," Berube said of facing the Blues. "But once the puck drops, it's over. We're just playing. Like, we need a good response here tonight with our team. That's what I'm focused on."

Berube also had a bit of humor as he talked about winning the Stanley Cup with the Blues, joking that his wife sold off his championship ring.

"It's probably somewhere at home. My wife's probably got it. Maybe she sold it, don't know," Berube joked. "I haven't seen it in a long time, so I'm not sure exactly where it's at."

Berube has led the Leafs to a 4-3 record through the first seven games of the 2024-25 NHL season.

Craig Berube was hired to bring new accountability to the Leafs

Following Toronto's latest opening-round exit from the postseason, Leafs management made a major change in leadership by terminating Keefe and hiring Berube.

Berube's no-nonsense and gruff approach to the game has brought a new level of accountability to the team that had been missing.

"You've got to check, and we didn't check. That's the bottom line. That's where it ends for me," Berube said about Tuesday's 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. "If we checked early in the game, I think we'd have been in good shape, but we didn't check. We didn't check early in the game, got down 3-0, and you're playing catch-up. We couldn't get a goal by the goalie. Like, you know, we had opportunities. We didn't score. But you put yourself in a hole, and you've got to do a better job of that."

Given the fact that Toronto has won a single playoff series since 2004, he's the prevailing hope in Toronto.