NHL
Toronto Maple Leafs

Berube says he expects to return as Maple Leafs head coach next season

By
TSN.ca Staff

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Craig Berube’s future as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs remains in limbo as the team searches for its next head of hockey operations, but the 60-year-old said Thursday he expects to be back behind the bench next season.

“Yes,” Berube simply told reporters when asked during Toronto’s locker room cleanout if he expects to return. He added, however, that he has not been given any indication from the club as of yet.

MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley said last month that Berube’s future with the team would be determined by the new leader of the front office, who he was hoping to have in place at some point in May.

The Maple Leafs will finish fifth-last in the NHL this season as their nine-year streak of playoff appearances has come to an end. Toronto posted a 32-36-14 record on the season, finishing with 78 points, 30 fewer than their 2024-25 total.

Uncertainty around Berube’s future has lingered throughout a disappointing campaign and reached a fever pitch when Pelley fired general manager Brad Treliving just over two weeks ago.

“I don’t think about it, guys. I mean, I really don’t. You probably think I’m bullsh--ting you, but I’m not,” Berube told reporters after Treliving was fired. “I feel for Brad right now and his family. That’s what I feel right now.”

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported at the time that Berube had been given no indication on his future from the franchise, but was given a heads up on Treliving’s fate.

In his first season with the club, Berube helped guide Toronto to an Atlantic Division title with a 52-26-4 record, also securing the team’s second playoff series win over the past decade, defeating the Ottawa Senators in six games.

The Maple Leafs would fall to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in the second round, losing 6-1 on home ice in Game 7.

Prior to his time in Toronto, Berube had coached the Philadelphia Flyers for two years, before spending six seasons in St. Louis, where he led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2019.