John Chayka Open To Bringing Craig Berube Back As Maple Leafs Head Coach
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube's job remains hanging in the balance after the organization unveiled new general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor of hockey operations on Monday afternoon.
Berube had an incredibly successful first season behind the Maple Leafs bench, finishing the regular season atop the Atlantic Division and getting to the second round before losing to the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in seven games.
This past season, however, was disastrous .
The Maple Leafs began the year with a troublesome power play, which improved after the organization fired Marc Savard and promoted Steve Sullivan from the Toronto Marlies. But, they finished last in their division, second-last in the entire Eastern Conference, and fifth-last in the NHL.
Because of that, many wondered about Berube's future with the hockey club.
It's not just about the team's play, though. Some question if the head coach is getting the best out of Auston Matthews , who's only scored 60 goals in his last 127 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs.
Under former head coach Sheldon Keefe, Matthews had f ive consecutive seasons with 40 or more goals , including his record-breaking 69-goal campaign in 2023-24.
When asked on Monday about the head coach's future with the team, Chayka called Berube a "tremendous coach," adding that the two had spoken briefly on Sunday night.
"He's a guy that's a respected leader for over decades in the National Hockey League," Chayka said during his press conference . "He's a Stanley Cup coach and a good person. We had a good conversation."
The two, along with Sundin, will meet later this week to go over everything within the team.
"Mats and I are coming in as outsiders. He spent the past few years with the team, so we want to listen and learn, and understand his perspective," Chayka continued. "And go forward from there."
When asked if he's open to bringing Berube back, Chayka quickly responded, "Yes, of course."
"It's hard to find great coaches," the GM continued. "He's a great coach. I was lucky enough to work with Rick Tocchet in Arizona. Obviously there's a deep friendship there, and I think they share notes and ideas on things, so I'm not starting from zero, and I think Craig's a really, really good coach."
Berube was hired by the Maple Leafs in the spring of 2024 by former GM Brad Treliving after the club was eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs that year.
Since joining the hockey club, Berube has posted an 84-62-18 record through two seasons, plus one series win against the Ottawa Senators last spring. Toronto finished this past year with the second-highest goals against, the most shots against per game, and the fourth-least regulation wins.
"I think data is one part of the puzzle. And I think you need to look at what a coach is given," said Chayka. "You need to look at what he's good with, and I think you have to take it into part of the entire holistic review of things.
"But certainly I would definitely ask that question (why the team was subpar in several underlying categories) to Craig and get his input as well."
