Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterMay 21, 2024, 12:41 PM ET
CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
Craig Berube had options for his next NHL head coaching job, but he’s chosen to bet on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Toronto is a team in turmoil, reeling from another unsuccessful postseason run and faced with rampant speculation over the future of its star players — including Mitch Marner and John Tavares. Berube sees potential in the Leafs just as they are, though, and it’s why he decided to slide behind the bench again in a pressure-packed Canadian market.
“That was one of the attractions — the core player group is great here,” said Berube at his introductory press conference on Tuesday. “That was definitely one of the attractions to come and coach this team. If you look at the roster, there’s great players and it’s a great opportunity to build a team that can move forward and become something… not better but get over the hump a little bit here. And you want to work with good people and [here are] great people who are thinking a lot like I do on how we want to build a team and how we want to play.”
The Leafs hired Berube last Friday to replace Sheldon Keefe, who was let go on May 9 following Toronto’s first-round Stanely Cup playoff series loss to Boston. It was the third time in four seasons under Keefe that the Leafs failed to advance in the playoffs, despite recording three consecutive 100-plus point regular seasons.
The coaching change happened amid continued scrutiny around Toronto’s core failing to deliver — again — in the playoffs. While Auston Matthews and William Nylander were both sidelined by injury throughout the seven-game series against Boston, Marner and Tavares were mediocre, producing three points and two points respectively in those seven contests. They’re both entering the final year of their contracts and would be eligible to sign extensions with the Leafs on July 1. The question is whether Toronto can afford — figuratively…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40191485/craig-berube-had-options-chose-maple-leafs-due-core
Author : Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-05-21 17:41:31
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