Maple Leafs relieve head coach Craig Berube of his duties

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

Berube was hired by the Maple Leafs on May 17, 2024, after the team dismissed Sheldon Keefe following the conclusion of the 2023-24 NHL season. During his tenure with the Maple Leafs, Berube posted an 84-62-18 record in 164 regular season games.

The news comes following the appointment of John Chayka as general manager and Mats Sundin as senior executive advisor. Chayka said in a statement that the decision was not an easy one but one that was necessary to take the organization in a new direction.

“Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person,” said Chayka. “This decision is more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig. We are grateful for his leadership, professionalism and commitment to the Maple Leafs organization and wish Craig and his family nothing but the best moving forward.”

“Communication is huge. I think one of my strengths is I’m a great communicator with my players, they know where I stand,” Berube said during his introductory press conference with the Maple Leafs on May 21. “I’m gonna tell them if they’re playing well, I’m gonna tell them if they’re not playing well. I’m going to tell them things they need to improve upon. Accountability is accepted more by your players when you have that partnership.”

Berube was instructed to provide the Maple Leafs with some renewed, pragmatic structure, preaching a north-south philosophy. Toronto showed significant improvements on the defensive side of the puck during the 2024-25 campaign, allowing 136 goals at 5-on-5, the third-fewest in the NHL. During his first year with the team, the Maple Leafs advanced to Game 7 of the second round against the Florida Panthers, where they were defeated soundly 6-1 in the elimination game, spelling the end of Mitch Marner’s tenure with the club. The Maple Leafs were then one of the worst defensive teams in the league in 2025-26, as the dump-and-chase system dried up on the crop of players they had. They allowed the second-most goals of any NHL team, finishing only behind the league-worst Vancouver Canucks.

Berube joined the Maple Leafs with the requisite Stanley Cup experience that the team prioritized, leading the St. Louis Blues to their first-ever championship in 2019. Ultimately, the Maple Leafs needed to make a major change after missing the playoffs for the first time in the Auston Matthews era.

Whoever is next appointed as head coach will determine the rest of their coaching staff, leaving the jobs of Derek Lalonde and Steve Sullivan among others up in the air.