Confirmed with Link: Craig Berube named the 32nd Coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs

[Leaf Fans]

Great work.. Remembered him in the deal but did not recall the number.

Welcome home Craig Berube !!!!

For all you Leaf diehards out there ... Did you know that Craig Berube was once a Maple Leaf player in a past life ?.

That's right, he was traded by then Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher in a the massive 10 player swap that brought Dougie Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary ..

Trade to the Maple Leafs​

Several months after the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Cliff Fletcher to be their new general manager, he made a blockbuster trade with Calgary in February 1992. Fletcher had previously served as Calgary's general manager before coming to Toronto, and he was responsible for putting together their 1989 championship team. The Leafs acquired Doug Gilmour along with Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, and Rick Wamsley in exchange for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube.

The 10 player deal was the largest in NHL history, and statistically speaking, one of the most lopsided.

View attachment 872698

Did anyone remember he wore now Mitch Marner's #16 as a Leaf?

View attachment 872705

Of course. He came to Toronto in the Fuhr Anderson trade and left in the Gilmour trade. Everyone knows that.

 

[colchar]

is this actually true?

Good grief.

Really curious who is coming in as assistants.

I am assuming all of Keefe's assistants were let go. Clean slate please.

Well clearly they need to extend whoever was in charge of the power play but otherwise yeah, fire the rest.

 

[notDatsyuk]

For @notbias
Winning a cup say you did a coos job as a coach, winning 1 series in years, not so much, so please tell me how berube didn't so his job well.

and for your pleasure:
Binnington had a .914 sv% in the cup run. That's 9th out of the last 11 cup winning goalies. So didn't ride a hot goalie. If you watched them they had great structure defensively and vicious a counterattack.

2020 boumeester collapsed in the season on the bench and covid killed their run where they were in contention for the president's cup, lost in the 1st round.
The next season they lost pie and Dunn for nothing and was a .500 team.
Next season they had a 109 point season and lost the the avs in the 2nd round but husso was horrible in net, sub .900 iirc
His last season with the blues Armstrong either was trying to retool or something. Perron O'Reilly Schwartz all gone for nothing.

Kind of going off memory here so please feel free to correct any of the details.

Seems if he has talent, he will do a good job. Also most likely he is here to change the culture of the dressing room. All sounds good to me.



So your turn. What's wrong with him?

Oh! Oh! Oh! I know the answer.

Two things: he isn't Keefe, and Dubas didn't hire him.

Edit: also, he hasn't managed to get Nylander traded yet.

 

[Stephen]

Funny though, what Savard is saying here is the opposite of what Tocchet (who I think is doing a great job) said the other night. He said he wants the Canucks to hold onto the puck and that their problem in the loss was getting rid of the puck too quick

All depends on what’s happening.

You can hold the puck to make a better play but the unhappy compromise is you’re sacrificing northbound momentum to process options, or retreat deeper into your own end which increases turnover potential. Traditionally this has been a Keefe era dilemma.

You can also move the puck faster, but all depends on execution. Florida and Colorado like to snap it around on special teams and in transition. It’s crisp, effective, no one’s complaining.

On the flip side, there’s bailing on the puck like you’re just throwing it away or grenading it to teammates and vulnerable areas. Also bad.

 

[Stephen]

Welcome home Craig Berube !!!!

For all you Leaf diehards out there ... Did you know that Craig Berube was once a Maple Leaf player in a past life ?.

That's right, he was traded by then Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher in a the massive 10 player swap that brought Dougie Gilmour to Toronto from Calgary ..

Trade to the Maple Leafs​

Several months after the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Cliff Fletcher to be their new general manager, he made a blockbuster trade with Calgary in February 1992. Fletcher had previously served as Calgary's general manager before coming to Toronto, and he was responsible for putting together their 1989 championship team. The Leafs acquired Doug Gilmour along with Jamie Macoun, Ric Nattress, Kent Manderville, and Rick Wamsley in exchange for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godynyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube.

The 10 player deal was the largest in NHL history, and statistically speaking, one of the most lopsided.

View attachment 872698

Did anyone remember he wore now Mitch Marner's #16 as a Leaf?

View attachment 872705

Number 16.

 

[colchar]

I like the hire. I also like that it signifies the end of the Dubas/Keefe era. Time for Treliving and Berube to write a better chapter in Leafs history.

For the first time in a long time, I'm optimistic. I want to see this team once they are out from under the JT and MM contracts.

 

[colchar]

Matthews and Nylander know very well that in a dispute between player and coach, those guys win every time.

I'm not so sure any more.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

From what I've been reading about Berube I'm even more amped to have him behind the bench than before. He's not just a hardass, he's an effective communicator which will be in stark contrast to that psycho Babcock. He also has more clout than Keefe does. He gets to know every player on his roster and doesn't bullshit them.

Berube’s direct – and effective – communication style not only meant players always knew where they stood with their head coach, it meant they generally enjoyed punching in for work every morning under Berube.

“(Berube) is not going to play games with you. He’s going to tell you what you need and whether it’s good enough or not good enough,” Allen said. “The guys really appreciated what he did. They enjoyed playing for him and going to the rink because they knew he was there to win, and so were we.”

And that’s because one of Berube’s defining traits, according to both Bortuzzo and Allen, was how he valued players up and down the lineup equally.

“(Berube) knows every piece of the puzzle is important,” Allen said. “He expects everyone to do their job the same way.”

He demands high compete every game and wants guys to battle for every puck and be responsible defensively. Most importantly he demands it of every player, there's no hierarchy. And if in the event Mitch doesn't waive his NMC and he stays Berube has gotten success out of skilled players who aren't physical just fine. Tarasenko bought in during their Cup run and Thomas and Kyrou both put up good numbers under him, especially off the rush (so it's not like he only preaches one offensive style).

He's no dummy despite what preconceived notions people may have due to his style of play when he was in the show and his occasional gruff demeanour. He's made it a point to study the game and learn as much as he can.

Well, late in his playing career, he began paying more attention to it.

“There was a lot of nights I had a lot of time on the bench to watch it,” Berube once said, poking fun at himself because he wasn’t getting much ice time. “I just started watching a little more closely how the game was played.”

When Berube became coach of the Philadelphia Flyers’ AHL affiliate, Hitchcock was in charge of the parent club.

“We spent an awful lot of time together,” Hitchcock said. “We were both early risers, so we spent every morning together just going over tactics. He was exceptional as far as understanding changes that needed to be made to get better.”

The Leafs have already started acquiring heavy players who should fit his system like a glove. And say what you will about Keefe he did at this teams best he had them playing well defensively so for most of these guys they should be able to integrate to Berube's system with little trouble. Regardless, the days of this team having slow starts and being unprepared for the playoffs should be over. This is a man who demands the best and is willing to do anything to get the team there. Any player that's not ready to do the dirty work or take on a role they're unfamiliar with or consider lesser should be shown the door as soon as possible.

Players quickly realized why Berube was demanding increased intensity midway through the season. He didn’t believe in flipping the switch, as it were, and asking his team to start playing playoff-style hockey after the regular season.

“There aren’t two styles of hockey. You are who you are,” Bortuzzo said. “He didn’t want us playing two types of hockey. All year, you’re trying to become a better team.”

 

[The Masters]

 

[WillNy29]

I'll repost this because it made me happy to read:


"Berube's suffocating system took a stranglehold on the rest of the league. The Blues became a heavy hockey team that made opponents fight for every inch of the ice and did not allow for easy passage through the neutral zone. Not only did the Blues find their scoring touch, but their forechecking became a widely superior strength over anyone else in the NHL, increasing their offensive-zone time and not allowing teams to rush up the ice."

Matthews was designed to succeed in a system that employs heavy forechecking; methinks we see another level from him this year.

 

[WillNy29]

Auston strikes me as a guy who wants to win.

I'm hoping Chief is the guy of guy who says to AM do you want to score 70 or win the cup?

you know you can do both?

 

[Superstar]

Marner's attitude and softness are only half the reason I want him gone. I also think Matthews plays better without him. So it's like a double upgrade. Auston needs to get engaged, much better chance of that without his buddy Mitch.

Matthews was amazing with Domi and Bertuzzi...really made Marner expendable...Matthews was gonna get 70 had Domi not missed the last two games of the season...and what do you know, he sets up Matthews in game 2 against Bruins for the game winning goal with a beautiful lob pass.

 

[Superstar]

Really curious who is coming in as assistants.

I am assuming all of Keefe's assistants were let go. Clean slate please.

Nah, Boucher is staying to run the amazing playoff powerplay again...

On a serious note, Marc Savard is probably coming on board as one of the assistants.

 

[Bomber0104]

you know you can do both?

At the end of the season it might be advisable to work towards playing system focused hockey and not everyone try to force plays to the guy with 69 goals…

Could be wrong but the end of our regular season was almost singularly focused on getting guys the individual accolades.

And then those guys ended up with games missed in the playoffs for us.

Weird coincidence.

 

[WillNy29]

At the end of the season it might be advisable to work towards playing system focused hockey and not everyone try to force plays to the guy with 69 goals…

Could be wrong but the end of our regular season was almost singularly focused on getting guys the individual accolades.

And then those guys ended up with games missed in the playoffs for us.

Weird coincidence.

i did not imply what you inferred; i said a player as talented as he is could probably get 70 in a peak year without the team trying to blow its load to force feed him.

If the leafs had played with any semblance of proper structure once he hit 65 he wouldve scored 70 on his own he was pacing white hot going into 50 and then 60 without sacrificing team defense and his own particular defensive play. That's what I mean. Unless of course you mean kucherov and mcdavid gunning for 100 assists is why theyll likely be out at the same time or having played 4 or 5 more games than the leafs lol?

 

[Gabriel426]

At the end of the season it might be advisable to work towards playing system focused hockey and not everyone try to force plays to the guy with 69 goals…

Could be wrong but the end of our regular season was almost singularly focused on getting guys the individual accolades.

And then those guys ended up with games missed in the playoffs for us.

Weird coincidence.

Also the mind set for their linemates were feed them the pucks and it showed in Game 1.

 

[hockeywiz542]

 

[ruaware41]

For @notbias
Winning a cup say you did a coos job as a coach, winning 1 series in years, not so much, so please tell me how berube didn't so his job well.

and for your pleasure:
Binnington had a .914 sv% in the cup run. That's 9th out of the last 11 cup winning goalies. So didn't ride a hot goalie. If you watched them they had great structure defensively and vicious a counterattack.

2020 boumeester collapsed in the season on the bench and covid killed their run where they were in contention for the president's cup, lost in the 1st round.
The next season they lost pie and Dunn for nothing and was a .500 team.
Next season they had a 109 point season and lost the the avs in the 2nd round but husso was horrible in net, sub .900 iirc
His last season with the blues Armstrong either was trying to retool or something. Perron O'Reilly Schwartz all gone for nothing.

Kind of going off memory here so please feel free to correct any of the details.

Seems if he has talent, he will do a good job. Also most likely he is here to change the culture of the dressing room. All sounds good to me.



So your turn. What's wrong with him?

I think his point is there's no reason to be hyped behind him and label him the next big thing like this fanbase always does. This team has gone through 2 coaches now with this core and still didn't deliver. The mood should be melancholy not another hype train. Until proven otherwise Berube is just another cog, part of the revolving doors of mediocrity that is the current Leafs core. Why can't we learn why do we have to get so hyped every time.

 

[Kazparov]

you know you can do both?

Yes of course. The point I was making referred to their poor team play in the last few weeks /games of the season where they were chasing 70 or 100pts for Willy and not prepping the game style for the playoffs

 

[Maple Leaf]

Ya. What out of work NHL coach would ever want to coach one of the most talented group of players in the league in the biggest hockey market in the world? It's madness!

MLSE runs it back and keeps the cash flowing

 

[rumman]

It will be interesting to see how the entitled respond to accountability………

Hopefully no trips to Arizona cause Auston isn’t happy. Marner can play guitar in Nashville.

That shit can never happen again, if your not onboard, request a trade……….

 

[rumman]

The fact the Dubists are hating it makes me even more comfortable with it. That cluelessness never fails.

Agreed……..

 

[Darcy Tucker]

At the end of the season it might be advisable to work towards playing system focused hockey and not everyone try to force plays to the guy with 69 goals…

Could be wrong but the end of our regular season was almost singularly focused on getting guys the individual accolades.

And then those guys ended up with games missed in the playoffs for us.

Weird coincidence.

Really good point I agree. Except 70 goals is a once in a generation milestone. I can't blame Papi for chasing it. He still played well on both ends of the ice.

Nylander playing all 82 when he knows he has a pre existing condition in which rest and relaxation can help out continues to perplex me. He didn't even get 99 let alone 100. Also he was seen floating and not playing D plenty of times. Regardless of the circumstances or causes it doesn't look good. Wonder what his teammates secretly were thinking about the situation.

 

[rumman]

What I wouldn’t give to see the Chief do that again to the Prez……..

 

[Maple Leaf]

is this actually true?

I hope so