Craig Berube Shares Honest Thoughts on First Season as Maple Leafs Head Coach
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shares his thoughts on the city of Toronto and the organization as a whole during his first season with the club.
The writing was on the wall for quite some time, but after the Toronto Maple Leafs were ousted in the first round once again, Sheldon Keefe's tenure with the club had to come to an end. Despite a very successful run during the regular season, he couldn't get the team over the hump when it truly mattered.
Rumours were swirling for a very long time about a union between the Maple Leafs and Craig Berube, especially after he was let go by the St. Louis Blues. Once the summer rolled around, the Leafs worked quickly to get their new bench boss, and so far, it's been a great experience for all parties involved.
Berube recently revealed just how he's felt about his first season behind the bench in Toronto, and despite the ups and downs for the team, the new Leafs head coach has been blown away by the entire organization.
Berube talked about how welcoming and open the organization has been since he's arrived and mentioned how great it's been working alongside Brad Treliving and Brendan Shanahan. He was always the perfect candidate and 45 games into the season, it seems like the feeling is mutual.
The Maple Leafs have struggled recently, but remain in the top spot of the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers right on their tail. Beyond their 27-16-2 record, the Leafs have adopted Berube's system and have been playing a completely different brand of hockey than we've seen in years - maybe even decades.
There are certainly bumps along the way, especially during a full 82-game season, but it sounds like everyone within the organization is on the same page and that should benefit everyone moving forward.
Having a strong relationship between head coach, general manager, and president is as important as fielding a competent squad of 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders. However, the Maple Leafs will always be judged on how they perform during the post-season and this year won't be any different.
If Berube can get them over the hump and into the second round, that would be one thing, but if he can somehow manage to elevate his players and have the Leafs playing in the Conference Finals for the first time since 2002, he'd be an instant legend in the eyes of the fans, who have been starved for success for a very long time.
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