TORONTO (AP) — The Toronto Maple Leafs dismissed head coach Craig Berube on Wednesday following a disastrous season that landed the franchise at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.
Berube’s departure concludes his two-season tenure with Toronto. While his inaugural campaign delivered an impressive 108-point season, the team’s performance collapsed dramatically in 2025-26.
“Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person,” general manager John Chayka said in a statement. “This decision is more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig.”
Chayka recently joined the organization this month, taking over after Brad Treliving’s dismissal in March.
The Maple Leafs secured the top selection in last week’s NHL draft lottery. Toronto is anticipated to choose between Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg when they make the first overall selection on June 26 during the NHL draft in Buffalo.
During his time with Toronto, Berube compiled an 84-62-18 record, though the team managed only 32-36-14 this past season. The plunge from 108 points to 78 represented the franchise’s most dramatic single-season decline in team history.
Despite losing star forward Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs entered the campaign with optimistic expectations.
The organization brought in three new forwards — Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy — attempting to fill Marner’s role through a collective approach on what many considered a Stanley Cup-caliber roster.
However, Toronto never found their rhythm throughout the season. Combined with significant injuries and player absences, the team appeared disjointed from the opening game.
Even with star players Auston Matthews and William Nylander leading the offense, Toronto’s power play became a major weakness.
The team’s defensive struggles created serious issues, as they posted the league’s second-worst goals-against average and were outshot more than any other NHL team with 66 instances.
“They played with more passion than we did,” Berube told reporters in December after a 4-0 road loss to the Washington Capitals. “That’s what it boils down to. It looked to me like they had way more urgency in their game, more passion in their game. That’s the difference.”
When pressed to elaborate on his assessment, he responded: “Ask those guys, not me.”
This exchange highlighted the obvious tension within the organization.
Matthews, a three-time Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy recipient as the NHL’s leading goal scorer, managed just 27 goals before a season-ending knee injury from a hit by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas in March.
The team’s lack of response to the hit on their captain drew harsh criticism from Berube — a former NHL enforcer who ranks seventh all-time in penalty minutes — along with media and supporters who questioned the team’s locker room dynamics.
The 60-year-old Berube was brought aboard in May 2024 when Treliving released Sheldon Keefe after 4½ seasons as head coach.
Under Berube’s leadership in his first year, Toronto achieved only their second playoff series victory during the NHL’s salary-cap era. The Maple Leafs defeated the Ottawa Senators before losing to Florida in a series highlighted by devastating 6-1 home defeats in Games 5 and 7. The Panthers subsequently captured their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship.
Toronto had initially responded well to Berube’s direct, disciplined, north-south playing style in 2024-25 after Keefe couldn’t guide the same talented roster past their postseason struggles, but failed to replicate that achievement in year two.
Berube’s coaching career started within the Philadelphia Flyers system following his playing retirement. He progressed through the ranks, transitioning from the AHL to an NHL assistant position in 2006-07.
He assumed the Flyers’ head coaching role partway through 2013-14 and remained for one additional season before his dismissal.
Following a year away from hockey, Berube coached St. Louis Blues’ AHL team. He became an NHL associate coach in 2017-18 and was elevated to head coach with St. Louis in November 2018.
Berube transformed the struggling Blues, who had occupied last place in the overall standings, into a playoff team that embarked on an incredible championship run culminating in the franchise’s first Cup title.
After three consecutive first-round playoff exits and missing the playoffs entirely in 2022-23, St. Louis dismissed Berube just 28 games into the following season.
When Toronto hired Berube, Treliving mentioned extensive discussions with individuals who had worked with, reported to, and played for the former enforcer.
“They talked about how they would go through a wall for him,” Treliving said. “There was the connection he had with his players, the accountability he had with his players, and the bond he was able to build with staff.”
