Maple Leafs fire head coach Craig Berube

The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Craig Berube, the team announced on Wednesday.

Berube, who won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, took over as Maple Leafs head coach in May 2024, guiding the team to a 52-win season and first-place finish in his first year at the helm. They were eliminated by the Florida Panthers in round two.

The Leafs took a step back under Berube this past season, finishing fifth-last and missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.

It’s the shortest tenure for a Maple Leafs full-time head coach since Paul Maurice, hired in Toronto back in 2006-07 and let go in May 2008.

Berube had two years remaining on his four-year contract, through the 2027-28 season.

“This was the right decision on the path ahead,” Chayka said Wednesday, adding the decision was made shortly after he met with Berube to discuss his future. “It was a difficult decision. It was not a verdict on Craig’s coaching. I think it stands for itself.”

Chayka suggested that Berube hoped to return next season.

“I think Craig, his heart’s in it,” Chayka said. “That’s the kind of guy he is. I think he felt like he had a lot of unfinished business, and I think he’s got a lot of great connections with the players here — and it was only a discussion about the path ahead.”

Chayka said he didn’t ‘make this decision in a vacuum’ and that the coaching change is part of a broader restructuring with senior executive director of hockey operations Mats Sundin. He noted that the next head coach will make the decision on filling out the remainder of the staff. The current assistant coaches in Toronto are Mike Van Ryn, Derek Lalonde and Steve Sullivan.

Toronto recently won the NHL Draft Lottery and will select first in June.

Chayka says Leafs will conduct ‘wide and deep search’ for next coach

As the Maple Leafs search for a new head coach, no stone will be left unturned by Chayka.

“We’re gonna have a very wide and deep search, people across varying backgrounds and experiences, and through that we’ll pick the right leader,” Chayka told reporters on Wednesday.

Chayka did not get into specifics of what he was looking for in the next coach, saying he “wouldn’t discount anything at this time.”

“Regardless of who the coach is, we should have an organizational vision on how we play and the things we value,” he said.

And while Chayka did say that he’s met with some players, they did not factor in the decision to part with Berube. That includes captain Auston Matthews, he said.

“We did not solicit feedback from the players on the coaching staff at all,” he said.

Under Berube’s watch this season, the Leafs allowed the second-most goals in the NHL while sitting 16th in scoring.

With star scorers like Matthews and William Nylander under contract for at least two more seasons, there is a thought that the Maple Leafs should hire a coach who employs a higher-tempo system.

But Chayka said he is keeping his options open.

“Having the roster fit the coach and the style of play is always an important aspect of it, but I don’t think that was the deciding factor of this decision,” he said.

Chayka, 36, added that there is no timeline in place to choose a new coach. The Los Angeles Kings are the only other NHL franchise currently in need of a new bench boss.

Meanwhile, Chayka said he has not yet formally met with Matthews, though they’ve had conversations.

“I think he wants to align on the vision and the strategy ahead, as do we. And so I don’t think there’s any type of competing interests,” Chayka said. “I think it’s [let’s] go get on the same page.”