New Coach "Bump" From Craig Berube Also Applies to the Toronto Maple Leafs
To the chagrin of many, the Toronto Maple Leafs will return a familiar cast of characters when they hit the ice for training camp this September.
Despite calls for disbanding the core, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly will again lead the Leafs quest for success.
The most significant change to the team came during the immediate aftermath of the first-round loss to the Boston Bruins with the dismissal of head coach Sheldon Keefe.
General Manager Brad Treliving ignored the chatter around trading Marner, kept the Maple Leafs stars intact while making changes in the net, on defense, and behind the bench.
New Coach "Bump" From Craig Berube Also Applies to the Toronto Maple Leafs
It did not take Keefe long to find a new home after his dismissal from the Leafs. The New Jersey Devils hired him within two weeks of his exit from Toronto.
Much of the talk since Keefe's hiring has been around the boost he will provide as the new coach for the young and talented Devils roster. His regular season success and familiarity guiding inexperienced stars while with the Leafs are seen as the perfect fit for the up-and-coming Devils.
Keefe may be the tonic to get the best from players like Jack and Quinn Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Dougie Hamilton but the same new coach "bump" can also help the Maple Leafs.
Just like it was time for Mike Babcock to go before him, Keefe's voice and ways had run their course in Toronto. Despite being the most successful regular season coach in franchise history, he couldn't carry that magic into the playoffs.
It's an anomaly in modern professional sports for a coach to last longer than a three-to-five-year window with the same organization. The main reason is their message gets lost and becomes stale.
It's not just the Devils who will benefit from a new voice and ways.
Berube Shares Similarities to Pat Quinn
Berube shares similarities with former Leafs coach Pat Quinn, one of the most successful coaches in team history.
Both are former NHL players with an imposing physical presence. Quinn twice took less talented Maple Leafs teams to the Conference Finals.
Berube brings the knowledge and experience that come from his 1,000-plus game-playing career. He also has a Stanley Cup championship with the St. Louis Blues.
The combination of his playing and coaching experiences brings added respect. He is also well-informed on what it takes to deal with the modern player.
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With the hiring of Berube, players on the Toronto Maple Leafs should be excited for a new opportunity. It symbolically signals a new beginning and a clean slate for all; a "bump" that can push the team to greater success.