​It appears that former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is making the media rounds this week. After publicly voicing his praise for Mitch Marner, the 2019 Stanley Cup winner spoke about the events that led to his dismissal this past spring. In particular, Berube recalled a now-famous meeting with the newly installed management group led by Mats Sundin and John Chayka.
Insiders like Elliotte Friedman have described the meeting as cordial. Berube himself suggested that, at the time, the impression he took from the encounter was that the new leadership would not sack him. Yet that is exactly what happened. During an appearance on Leafs Morning Take, Berube confirmed that impression, stating that he believed he would be back next season. To his surprise, things turned out differently.
“It was a good meeting. I thought we went through everything in the whole organization. There was a lot of information that they were looking to get from me, about what I saw and what I felt needed to change.” And yet, changes were on the horizon for the Maple Leafs. “I left feeling there like things were good, it felt like a good meeting… I felt like we were going to try to make it work. I was coming back.” Still, Berube conceded there was a lingering sense of doubt after the meeting. “I wasn’t totally sure… I just left there feeling that way.”
That faint doubt is one of the enduring questions surrounding this saga: should the Maple Leafs have kept Berube? It’s premature to say definitively, but there’s a sense that retaining Berube would have preserved some continuity within the organization. But continuity can also mask a broader shift in direction; keeping Berube would have meant continuing whatever issues might have existed under the previous regime.
The real test will come once Jim Hiller’s tenure has logged a meaningful number of games. Only then can fans and pundits assess whether letting Berube go was the right move.
What lies ahead for Berube remains a matter of time. It seems inevitable that he will get another coaching opportunity. He was a candidate for the Edmonton Oilers’ opening this season, and given the NHL’s coaching carousel, his odds could be favorable. In the wake of the Oilers’ hire of Mike Babcock, Berube might have stood as good a chance as any candidate to land a job elsewhere.
Looking ahead, there may be hot seats this season, and if that situation arises, Berube—“Chief” to longtime followers—could emerge as a strong mid-season fill-in. He has proven he can step into that role before, and there is little reason to doubt he could do so again. There’s a credible likelihood that another team will soon give him a chance to lead, and Maple Leafs fans may not have long to wait before seeing the former bench boss guiding another club. Given the nature of the NHL coaching circuit, that next opportunity could arrive sooner rather than later.