Just over one season into his tenure as the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach,Craig Berube has found himself on the hot seat sooner than most expected. Just 17 games into Berube's second season, panic has set all the way in here in Leaf land and some are already calling for a new boss behind the bench.
After Tuesday night's loss at the hands of the Bruins, the Leafs now sit in 15th place out of 16 teams in the Eastern conference, only sitting ahead of the lowly Buffalo Sabres.
Berube was hired as the Maple Leafs head coach on May 17, 2024, following another first-round loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins.
An embarrassing string of losses could be final straw for Craig Berube
The goal above was a Game 7, overtime winner courtesy of David Pastrnak, slamming the door shut on an oh-so-close 3-1 series comeback attempt by the Maple Leafs. It, evidently, also closed the door on the Sheldon Keefe-era of the Leafs.
Keefe was fired about a month later, with Berube being hired about a week after the firing. At the time, Berube was the highest profile coach available, as Jon Cooper and Mike Sullivan had recently re-upped with their respective teams, and Rod Brind'Amour was imminently going to return to the Hurricanes.
Before becoming Toronto's bench boss, Berube spent the six seasons prior as the coach of the St. Louis Blues. Berube's time in St. Louis included leading the team to the franchise's first Stanley Cup championship.
If Maple Leafs fans are going to find any solace at this time, it will be in the fact that the Craig Berube led Blues were dead last in the NHL in January of 2019 and ultimately won the Stanley Cup that season.
Berube's first season as this club's head coach resulted in a second round exit after an embarassing 6-1 blowout on home ice in Game 7 at the hands of the Florida Panthers last season.
Superstar Mitch Marner subsequently left town for the Vegas Golden Knights as part of a sign-and-trade including Nicolas Roy in the offseason. Obviously, losing an almost 100-point, Selke calibre player like Marner is will take a toll on a team, but the issues plaguing the Maple Leafs early in this season feel like more than just Marner's exit.
Berube's contract with the Maple Leafs is for four-years, and with this only being his second year with the team, Keith Pelley and all of MLSE are certainly hoping for a turnaround sooner rather than later.