Craig Berube stops Maple Leafs practice midway to send a clear message ahead of Rangers clash

By Mike Whitaker

Modified Oct 19, 2024 00:45 GMT

Among the many changes the Toronto Maple Leafs underwent during the 2024 offseason following their latest postseason opening-round loss was a major shift in leadership behind the bench.

Out came Sheldon Keefe, who had been in place since the November 2019 firing of Mike Babcock; in came Craig Berube, a former NHL hard-nosed forward who had previously served as head coach of both the Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues.

Known for his no-nonsense approach to coaching, the hope amongst Leafs fans and management is that he'll bring a new era of accountability that had been lacking in years past.

And to that end, Berube halted a recent Leafs practice session at the Ford Training Center when he felt the execution by his players wasn't up to his standard. Afterward, he explained his desire to not see the players get complacent despite a positive 3-1 record to begin the season.

"We don't want to get complacent, right? That's the biggest thing. Staying sharp," Berube explained. "I stopped it a couple of times. Just execution for me, you know, being sharp and executing.

"It sort of goes back to the last game and 5-0," he continued. "You take your foot off the gas a little bit. That's where we got to get. We don't want to do that."

Berube and the Leafs will next hit the ice on Saturday night against the visiting New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. New York is fresh off a two-game sweep of the Original 6 rival Detroit Red Wings, outscoring them by a combined 9-3.

Meanwhile, Toronto most recently defeated the Los Angeles Kings by a 6-2 final on Wednesday.

Craig Berube is in his first year as Maple Leafs head coach

The Leafs brought aboard Berube shortly after terminating Keefe, and pointed to Berube's championship experience as hopefully being a vital key in helping Toronto get over the hump of playoff success.

Leafs general manager Brad Treliving also praised Berube's reputation for holding all players accountable, regardless of how much they earn or their star status.

"Winning teams have the unique ability for everybody to feel if they weren't a part of it, they wouldn't accomplish their goal," Treliving said, after firing Keefe and before hiring Berube.

"Regardless of minutes played, dollars earned, everybody's important. And that is what is going to happen here."

Entering this season, Berube held a career-record of 281-190-72 as an NHL head coach.