Maple Leafs reportedly deep in negotiations to make Craig Berube head coach

Craig Berube will almost certainly be named as the next head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Friday afternoon that Berube and the Maple Leafs are ‘far down the road’ in the process of the head coaching negotiations and that it would be a surprise if the team goes in a different direction.

Berube would become the 32nd head coach in Maple Leafs history, succeeding Sheldon Keefe, who was fired after five seasons on May 9. Keefe posted a .665 winning percentage cumulatively during the regular season and Berube will be expected to win immediately with a group led by Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews and perennial 40-goal man William Nylander.

The 58-year-old is best known for leading the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup in franchise history during the 2019 season. Berube engineered a dramatic midseason turnaround for the Blues, who went from worst to first over the course of their championship campaign. He posted a 206-132-44 cumulative mark with the Blues. Prior to joining the Blues, Berube coached the Philadelphia Flyers for two seasons before being dismissed in April 2015.

St. Louis fired Berube on December 12, 2023 after the team stumbled to a 13-14-1 record and he was replaced by Drew Bannister.

Berube is known for his motivational tactics and implementing a defensively-sound style of play, which could be beneficial for a Maple Leafs team that too often was characterized as a scorching offense that hemorrhaged goals. Keefe’s fatal flaw in 2024 was overcorrecting his team’s nominal style, eschewing offense for defense in vain through the latter parts of the first-round loss to the Bruins. Berube will be tasked with fixing the team’s broken penalty kill among the first orders of business, while striking the right balance between offensive inventiveness and defensive responsibility.

Berube was widely reported to be the Maple Leafs’ top candidate throughout the process. Gerard Gallant and Todd McLellan also interviewed for the position, but the Maple Leafs worked tirelessly to get their preferred choice. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that McLellan interviewed with the Maple Leafs on Monday and Tuesday.

It’s unclear to what extent Berube will oversee the team’s next roster moves — including a potentially seismic deal involving Mitch Marner — but he’ll be involved with discussions alongside Brad Treliving and Brendan Shanahan to oversee the next era in Maple Leafs history. Berube’s pedigree as a proven winner was certainly appealing and if he’s the man to bring the Maple Leafs their first Stanley Cup since 1967, he has the chance to become deified like few others in civic history.