With the Toronto Maple Leafs losing a fourth straight game after returning from the Olympic break, it appears as though it is time to throw in the towel for the 2025-26 season. For a season that began with much hope and expectations, it has certainly turned into a huge disappointment for both the Maple Leafs and their fans.
As a result, one would assume that Leafs head coach Craig Berube should be in the hot seat if not before, but now for sure. After all, Toronto hasn’t been this bad since prior to the start of the Auston Matthews’ era back in 2016. Even though Berube led the team to a spectacular 52-26-4 to finish first in the Atlantic Division and make it all the way to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year, he has given a lot of that greatness back this season, as the Maple Leafs currently hold just a 27-24-10 record to sit second last in the division. More significantly, they are now a full seven points out of a playoff wild card spot.
Why the Maple Leafs absolutely cannot fire Craig Berube
However, despite all of the struggles and underwhelming performances, Toronto should still hang on to Berube and absolutely cannot fire him, at least not at this moment. So why is that?
There is actually more on the line than just what is turning out to be a throw away season for the Leafs. Under Berube’s command currently, the Maple Leafs having been racking up the losses in recent weeks. Toronto really needs that in order to ultimately finish as low as possible in the standings. That is because the fate of their 2026 first-round pick would be determined based on that.
For that precious pick, the Leafs had dealt it to the Boston Bruins last season in the trade that brought Brandon Carlo to Toronto. However, that pick is currently top-five protected, meaning if the Maple Leafs can finish as low as they can in the league standings, they can end up keeping that pick for the upcoming Entry Draft. Remember, there is also the lottery aspect to the draft, so to guarantee that the Leafs end up with a top-five pick, they must finish at least third last in the league by the end of the season,
As it stands right now, the Vancouver Canucks sit dead last in the NHL with just 43 points, followed by a cluster containing the St. Louis Blues with 53 points, the New York Rangers at 54 points, and both the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames at 55 points. So with the Leafs at 64 points currently, they have some work cut out for them.Â
So giving Berube the axe now could be detrimental to that plan, as the new coach coming in could inadvertently inspire the Leafs to produce some wins down the stretch. That would put them in the worst possible spot, not bad enough to retain their first-round pick and likely not high enough to make the playoffs. As a result, for the sake of the Leafs in their quest for a potential quick retool, just hanging onto Berube is the best course of action going forward for now.