Toronto Maple Leafs hire Craig Berube as their new head coach

The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Craig Berube to be the team’s next head coach.

The 58-year-old becomes the 32nd coach in team history.

Berube was head coach of the St. Louis Blues from 2018-19 to 2023-24, leading them to a Stanley Cup title in his first season behind the bench.

Under Berube’s watch, the Blues qualified for the playoffs in four of the five seasons. He was fired at the start of the 2023-24 campaign and replaced by Drew Bannister.

The new Leafs coach will speak to reporters at an introductory press conference on Tuesday.

Berube replaces Sheldon Keefe, who was fired on May 9, less than a week after the club lost Game 7 of the first round in overtime against the Boston Bruins.

Affectionately nicknamed “Chief” based on being of First Nations descent, Berube got his first head coaching job with the Philadelphia Flyers early in the 2013-14 season, replacing Peter Laviolette. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Flyers.

The native of Calahoo, Alta., played 1,050 career NHL games for the Flyers, Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders after going undrafted.

Berube had a supporting role in one of Toronto’s franchise-altering moments.

Traded three times in quick succession following the 1990-91 season, the second brought him to the Leafs for a 40-game stint before he was included in the blockbuster 10-player deal with Calgary that saw Toronto acquire Doug Gilmour, who would go on to lead the Original Six franchise on memorable back-to-back runs to the conference final in 1993 and 1994.

Berube has been doing TV work with TNT during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report