Toronto Maple Leafs Hold Craig Berube Press Conference

Tuesday morning the Toronto Maple Leafs introduced Craig Berube to the media as the new head coach for the club. (you can view it on youtube.com).

Joined on the podium along with Berube were Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan and General Manager Brad Treliving to give comments and answer questions.

Treliving stated he met with several candidates and even commented that there were upwards of nine individuals he spoke to, however everything kept coming back to Berube being the right person for the job.

The main things that drew the Maple Leafs GM back to Berube, he said, was that he checked off several boxes as he had played 1,000 games in the NHL, he served as both as assistant coach and head coach in the AHL, while also adding both jobs in the NHL while on route to winning a Stanley Cup. He liked that Berube was an organizational person had stayed with the Philadelphia Flyers for such a long time

Both Treliving and Shanahan went on to say that they spoke with several people that had previously played for Berube and they all said they would go through a wall for him. The Maple Leafs President added that players from all over the world and different skill sets all reiterated the same thing and that he was a great coach and person.

Treliving further commented that during the process they wanted a coach that one of the biggest necessities was that they had to have a prescience behind the bench and Berube has that. He admired Berube's concept to build a team first mentality and his ability to hold players accountable. He needed a coach that could push players out of the comfort zone during the playoffs and believes that Berube can do that.

Toronto Maple Leafs Hold Craig Berube Press Conference

What was heard over and over during the press conference was accountability. Berube stated to do this you need to connect with the players which not only comes from understanding who they are, but also being clear with the message he is handing out. The new coach added that he had spoken with almost every player already either in person or over the phone.

When asked what type of style he wanted the Maple Leafs to play he responded: a fast, north/south game while playing a heavy which he stated was being strong on the puck and winning battles.

When asked about what his coaching staff will look like, Berube stated it was still undeteremined but added that there was already one person there that he had coached with before which could mean Mike Van Ryn will still be around this upcoming season.

The question was put to Treliving about potential roster moves including John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi to which he stated that he had not looked into that at all as he was worried about finding a coach.

Berube did add that part of the attraction coming to the Maple Leafs was the high end skill and that he felt that the organization had already started a shift under the Treliving regime, which he liked the direction and felt he has on the same page as both Shanahan and Berube.