The Toronto Maple Leafs made a number of moves this past offseason with hopes to give the team a better chance at winning in the 2024-25 NHL season.
Among the moves included the massive change at the head coach position with the Toronto Maple Leafs hiring former Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube to replace Sheldon Keefe.
With a new mastermind at the helm, the Maple Leafs looked to ride the new strategies implemented by Berube to greater success this year. So far, it appears to be working to some extent as Toronto has done fairly well to date with a 22-13-2 record and sit atop of the Atlantic Division.
But how well has Berube actually done compared to Keefe with the New Jersey Devils this season? Did the Leafs in fact make the right choice? Let’s take a closer look at what the two have accomplished with their respective teams so far in 2024-25.
How Has Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Done This Year Compared to His Predecessor?
The following is a table that compares the Berube-led Maple Leafs and Keefe-led Devils over various statistical categories, with league ranking in parentheses.
Toronto Maple Leafs | New Jersey Devils | |
|---|---|---|
Points (Standings) | 46 (6th) | 51 (2nd) |
Points % (Standings) | .622 (10th) | .654 (5th) |
Goals For | 115 (11th) | 130 (4th) |
Goals Against | 105 (13th) | 98 (7th) |
Power Play % | 20.4% (19th) | 30.6% (2nd) |
Penalty Kill % | 81.4% (10th) | 82.6 (8th) |
Shots per Game | 28.7 (13th) | 30.0 (8th) |
Shots Against per Game | 29.1 (22nd) | 25.5 (3rd) |
For the bulk of the categories, one could see that the Leafs and the Devils are actually quite close. Despite the Devils having a greater points total and points percentage in the NHL standings, the slight difference could be attributed to the two extra games that New Jersey has played compared to Toronto.
However, one apparent glaring difference is the fact that the Devils have been a more potent scoring team while minimizing goals against at the same time with an elite goal differential of +32, compared to the Leafs +10. Another drastic difference has been in the power play department as New Jersey is firing at a greater than 30% clip, compared to Toronto at around 20%.
Finally, the Keefe-led Devils have been a master of suppressing shots, ranking third in the league in allowing just 25.5 shots per game. On the other hand, the Berube-led Leafs have allowed the opposition to fire more at will, with over 29 shots per game to rank 22nd in the NHL. No doubt the Leafs goalies have done their part in keeping the puck out of the net, but it is definitely not a recipe for success in the long run.
Just from the numbers, it appears as though Keefe has done a better job so far with the Devils than Berube has with the Leafs.
But there has been one determining factor that has made Berube especially stand out so far with Toronto. That factor is his ability to get the Maple Leafs to continue winning and stay close to the top of the standings despite a rash of injuries.
On the season, the Leafs have lost close to 150 man games thus far due to various ailments, as compared to about 60 for the Devils. More significantly, it hadn’t been just the supporting cast, but key players such as Auston Matthews, Anthony Stolarz and company. So to keep the Leafs competitive through it all might be Berube’s best accomplishment so far in his tenure with Toronto. (All stats from NHL.com and NHL Injury Viz)
As a result, numbers aside, Berube and Keefe have their respective teams near the top of the standings and heading in the right direction. But what may ultimately separate the two eventually is Berube’s ability to help the Leafs deal with adversity and keep the team winning through it all. With that, it may just be the missing element from the team all these years to get them to the next level.