Berube’s Future in Toronto Will Depend on the Next GM

There’s a certain rhythm to how things unfold around the Toronto Maple Leafs, and if you’ve watched this team long enough, you start to recognize it. Change rarely arrives quietly. It builds. A comment here, a report there, and before long, you can feel the ground shifting a little under your feet. That’s where things seem to be heading again — and this time, the focus isn’t on the roster. It’s behind the bench.

Although it's been quiet, there's a real chance that Craig Berube will be gone this offseason.

On a recent episode of Leafs Morning Take, NHL insider Andy Strickland floated the idea that Craig Berube might not be as secure in Toronto as it might seem. Now, he didn’t come out and say it outright. But he didn’t need to. The way he framed it — that there’s a “sense” around the league — that’s often how these things start. Not declarations, but direction.

And the direction here is pretty clear: if there’s a change coming in the front office, the bench might not be far behind.

That’s not exactly shocking when you think about it. Hockey organizations, like most institutions, tend to move in alignment. A new general manager usually wants his own people, his own voice, his own way of doing things. You don’t bring in new leadership just to keep everything else the same. Or, at least, not for long.

Strickland covered Berube during his time with the St. Louis Blues.

Strickland would know a thing or two about Berube. He covered him closely during his time with the St. Louis Blues, and when he suggests Berube would land on his feet elsewhere, that’s not just idle chatter. Coaches with a Stanley Cup on their résumés tend to find work. But that’s almost beside the point here.

The bigger issue is fit. Because the Maple Leafs are heading toward another shift at the top, Berube’s future becomes less about his performance and more about alignment. Does he match the vision of whoever comes next? Does his style fit the direction the organization wants to take?

Because if the answer is no, it won’t matter much what’s already been done.

For Maple Leafs fans, expect changes to come quickly.

We’ve seen this pattern before in Toronto. Changes don’t trickle in — they tend to arrive in waves. And under former general manager Brad Treliving, even the moves that came sometimes felt more reactive than foundational. That creates a kind of instability, or at least the perception of it.

Right now, nothing is official. No announcements, no timelines, no decisions set in stone. But the noise is getting louder, and in a market like this, noise usually means something is coming. It seems like, when the Maple Leafs start asking big questions, they rarely stop at one answer.

And right now, it feels like those questions are just getting started.