There are many questions this upcoming NHL season. How will the new captaincy fit Auston Matthews? What’s the future of both Mitch Marner and John Tavares? Can Toronto finally exorcise their playoff demons?
All difficult questions to ponder, and ones that new head coach Craig Berube undoubtedly thinks about on a daily basis. Hired to be a new vision behind the bench for GM Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs, there’s no doubt he could be under the most scrutiny this season out of anyone.
On TSN 1050’s First Up, host Dave Feschuk spoke a bit regarding the crunch Berube may be under in his first year as Leafs coach.
“A storyline that we don’t have a handle on yet, because he’s a man of few words, is how Craig Berube is going to change things. What is it gonna mean to have Craig Berube as your head coach? Because let’s face it here; when you look at what the Maple Leafs have done, it hasn’t been the kind of makeover that a lot of people expected – and I think a lot of people, including myself, think the Maple Leafs need – but without that makeover, you’re putting a lot on the coach to change things.
If you can’t change the players, you gotta change the tone, you gotta change the mentality, you gotta change the way this team plays hockey in it’s biggest moments and that’s a lot on Craig Berube to do it in a very short amount of time here. The 6 months of a regular season is not a long time and we hear a lot of teams saying “oh we need a lot more time to gel together with a new coach and a new system” and nobody wants to hear that in Leaf-land, people wanna see it work fast, people wanna see results in the here and now, people wanna see change. I’m not sure you’re gonna get it but it’s on Craig Berube to deliver it.”
It wasn’t the roster blowup that fans anticipated could happen this summer, but with the additions of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz while also drafting a fantastic prospect in Ben Danford; it was clear the focus was to turn to fixing Toronto’s defensive woes and shoring up their netminder situation. But will it lead to any changes?
Berube’s no-nonsense style of coaching and maximizing the potential of his players and utilizing their specific skillsets will pay dividends for the Maple Leafs. If he can get the most out of players like David Kampf, Pontus Holmberg, even someone like a Timothy Liljegren then that can only be a recipe for success. Toronto has lacked a vocal presence behind the bench, as Sheldon Keefe would often be too passive for Leafs fans.
Berube surrounded himself with a coaching group hellbent on improving the powerplay and the mentality around the team. Marc Savard is a powerplay monster and the addition of Lane Lambert who is a former NHL head coach just adds an extra level of experience needed. If they can turn the Maple Leafs powerplay into a killer, one of their weaknesses are eliminated.
It remains to be seen how Berube will inctruct his players and put his vision of the game into action, but with the new additions to the team and an overhaul mentally; it’s an exciting time for the man affectionately known as “Chief” to take charge.
