'100%': Craig Berube hopes the Leafs keep Marner and Tavares

Clearly, Berube wasn’t going to say otherwise.

But it’s the way he responded that really makes me think he was very serious in his answer.

Again, he didn’t hesitate before answering the question:

A head coach always wants to have the best players on hand to win.

And even though the Leafs lost in the second round, Berube saw in his first year in Toronto that he can be successful with Marner and Tavares in the line-up.

At least, it happened in the regular season…

That said, I wonder how much say he’ll have in the Leafs’ decisions this summer. Will Brad Treliving want to consult him before making his summer picks?

And can Berube push Treliving to sign Marner AND Tavares? Hmm…

In all this, let’s also note that the Leafs pilot was keen to give his players some love today. He enjoyed coaching the guys, the players accepted his plan… and he’s excited about next season, even if Sunday’s loss still hurts.

We know there will be changes in Toronto this summer, and we know it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

And between now and then, there will be a thousand and one rumours about the club’s Core 4. I have a feeling we’ll be talking a lot about the Leafs in the coming months…

Overtime

– William Nylander to join Sweden at CDM.

– It’s more than that.

– Well done!

– It won’t be easy.