With their new man in charge, the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping they can find instant success under a guy with a winning history.
On Friday, the team announced that it had hired Craig Berube as the 32nd head coach in franchise history. The move comes not long after the Leafs fired Sheldon Keefe after the team’s sixth first-round exit in the last eight seasons.
Berube has a ring on his finger after guiding the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019, with Toronto general manager Brad Trieliving and company hoping that he bring similar success to the Leafs. Some hope that Berube can make a similar impact to what Rick Tocchet has done since taking over the Vancouver Canucks, coaching a team to the best record in the Pacific Division this season.
[Berube’s] got this intimidating look. He can just look at you, and it feels like he’s saying to you, “I’m gonna punch you in the face,” but he’s not actually saying that. He’s got a great way of working with people and talking to people, and kind of has this relaxed sort of demeanor…I think that’s important for a team.
comparison [between Berube and Tocchet]. I think it’s really apt, given that not only are these two guys really close friends and former teammates, but I think they’re cut from the same cloth in terms of their intensity, in terms of their attention to detail and I think, most importantly, their emotional intelligence.
