{"id":535814,"date":"2026-04-02T02:17:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/535814\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T02:17:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T02:17:18","slug":"its-been-my-life-how-craig-berube-is-dealing-with-lack-of-job-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/535814\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s been my life\u2019: How Craig Berube is dealing with lack of job security"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 The over\/under on the duration of the first Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> practice\u00a0since the firing of Brad Treliving and another vote of nonconfidence in the head coach\u00a0was set at 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

But Craig Berube blew that estimate out of the water, skating the lads for nearly thrice that long on Wednesday at Honda Center.<\/p>\n

Bringing an energy as intense as an Anaheim sun, the 60-year-old wielded his whistle and barked his orders as if he was speeding toward the postseason, not walking the green mile.<\/p>\n

Line rushes, two-on-ones at pace, separate system drills for forwards and defence, and one-on-one corner battles that shook the otherwise empty arena\u2019s glass.<\/p>\n

For seven more games \u2014 and, presumably, no more than that \u2014 the respected hockey lifer they call Chief is still running the show, his way.<\/p>\n

Even if the man who hired him, Brad Treliving, was let go only after admitting to Leafs Nation that \u201cit hasn\u2019t worked\u201d with Berube atop the bench.<\/p>\n

Even after Keith Pelley announced Tuesday that Berube\u2019s fate will be determined by whomever MLSE\u2019s chief hires to run hockey operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what I like to do. Obviously, I love doing it, and it\u2019s been my life \u2014 whether we\u2019re in the playoffs, out of the playoffs,\u201d Berube said, after unlacing his skates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI get it. And there\u2019s all this uncertainty. I mean, this is what I do. And I come to the rink with the same attitude. That’s the truth. I come with the same attitude every day, and I coach them the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

They might one day boot the man out of hockey; they\u2019ll never take the hockey out of the man.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We think back, not so long ago, to how a different long-serving NHL head coach treated the gig when he knew his days were numbered. He sometimes didn\u2019t bother hitting the ice himself for morning skate. He occasionally let one of his assistants handle media duties.<\/p>\n

While the Maple Leafs are guilty of inconsistency this season, Berube has been comparatively steady in his messaging and tone, his belief in how the game should be played, and his attendance.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If a head-hunting chunk of gym equipment couldn\u2019t keep him off the ice for a day, why would he pout over what the suits do and the talking heads say?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m down. Lost a friend and a GM, you know?\u201d Berube said. \u201cThat bothers me. But I know that it\u2019s a business, and that\u2019s the way it goes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve always felt very fortunate to be in the NHL and be part of the NHL, from a player to a coach, all that. And I just don\u2019t take it for granted. I just don\u2019t. I know I\u2019m 60.\u201d A pause and a smile. \u201cI\u2019m a lucky guy to be part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his first year at his first job since being cut by his Stanley Cup\u2013winning St. Louis Blues, Berube led these Maple Leafs to their first-ever regular-season Atlantic Division crown and deeper in the postseason \u2014 one win from a conference final \u2014 than either Mike Babcock or Sheldon Keefe got them.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been great,\u201d John Tavares said. \u201cThere\u2019s a ton of respect for him in our locker room. We know how challenging he can be. And his ability to continue to push every day, try to push us and challenge us to be better, and working alongside us that way, I think he\u2019s done a really good job of continuing to try to push the right buttons. And understanding when to put the arm around you, or when the time is to push the group and challenge each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, though, the chip-and-chase, bodies-to-the-paint, defensively staunch brand of hockey Berube preaches has not resonated with the congregation this season.<\/p>\n

At one point, he questioned their heart. Several times, he has diagnosed \u201ca mental block\u201d that gets in the way of his athletes\u2019 natural skill. Berube\u2019s frustration when hope slipped away after the Olympic break was palpable.<\/p>\n

If the lottery-bound club is to retool and rebound back into relevance in 2026-27, the way Pelley prefers, a fresh voice and a system more catered to the \u201cfoundational players\u201d in Toronto\u2019s room feels like the simplest change of significance.<\/p>\n

Despite Berube still having two more seasons of guaranteed paycheques on his deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we have a new head in hockey in place,\u200aif that recommendation is around Craig Berube at that particular time, we will listen,\u201d Pelley said. \u201cSomething as big as Craig Berube would go all the way to ownership.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two speak often, and Pelley called Berube privately on Wednesday after letting him twist publicly Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Berube disagrees, though, that the Leafs have an issue with culture, a buzzword Pelley used multiple times in his press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think the culture was off,\u201d Berube said. \u201cI just think we obviously didn\u2019t perform at a high enough level this year to be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Equally undeniable is Berube\u2019s character and loyalty to the room. The way things have played out here, the man could\u2019ve singled out individuals or blasted the group publicly more often than he did (or that some would\u2019ve liked).<\/p>\n

Pushed, he\u2019ll crack a whip, but his default is to whip out a shield.<\/p>\n

Little touches, like Berube\u2019s not announcing his scratches of a prideful Max Domi, go a long way with the skaters.<\/p>\n

\u201cChief\u2019s an all-world human being. I mean, he\u2019s the ultimate professional and competitor, and he\u2019s just as upset as us players,\u201d Domi said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s in that room with us. He knows exactly what we’re going through, and we\u2019ve all came up short this year \u2014 and that\u2019s on us as players. So, we definitely owe it to him to be better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While we\u2019re not convinced the Maple Leafs can contend for a Cup without major roster change, we do believe \u2014 even as is \u2014 this collection of talent is better than its 32-30-13 record suggests.<\/p>\n

Two things can be true: Berube is a good coach. Berube is no longer the right coach.<\/p>\n

And while only seven games remain on the string, Berube will slam the gas, double-shift his best options, and strive to gather 14 more points.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he comes in motivates us every game. Just go out there and compete and play together for each other. And I think you can see the last two weeks or so, we\u2019ve played better hockey,\u201d Anthony Stolarz says. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna continue that consistency, that push, and finish the year strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coaching is in the man\u2019s blood. Maybe DNA cannot be changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m focused on coaching the team, honestly. Tomorrow \u2014 got a game. That’s what I’m doing,\u201d Berube said, when asked about his job security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever happens, happens. But I\u2019m the coach here now, and my focus is the team. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANAHEIM, Calif. \u2014 The over\/under on the duration of the first Toronto Maple Leafs practice\u00a0since the firing of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[5,20,5172,4,66,31,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-535814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-maple-leafs","10":"tag-mapleleafs","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-toronto","13":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","14":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116332714056900532","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}