The future of Craig Berube as Toronto Maple Leafs head coach will remain in limbo until a new leader of hockey operations is hired, MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley said Tuesday.
Pelley was non-committal on whether the Maple Leafs will hire a president of hockey operations or once again employ a general manager atop the organizational chart after firing Brad Treliving on Monday. He said the franchise hopes to have made a hire by late May, though.
“This will likely be the most important decision I make in my tenure at MLSE,” Pelley said of the hiring.
“They have to be data centric,” he later added as a requirement.
In the interim, Pelley said Berube will work with Maple Leafs assistant general managers Brandon Pridham and Ryan Hardy, who will fill Treliving’s role for now.
Keith Pelley says he's open to the possibility of hiring both a president and GM for the revamped #leafs front office.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 31, 2026
Says there's one must for their next hire: "They have to be data centric."
Berube insisted after a 5-4 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on Monday that his focus remains on the ice.
“I don’t think about it, guys. I mean, I really don’t. You probably think I’m bulls--ting you, but I’m not,” Berube told reporters. “I feel for Brad right now and his family. That’s what I feel right now.”
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports that Berube has been given no indicationon his futurewith the franchise, but was given a heads up on Treliving’s fate.
Treliving was fired just ahead of Toronto’s win over the Ducks, which leaves just seven games remaining in the Maple Leafs’ season. Sitting 11 points back of the final wild-card spot, Toronto will miss the playoffs this year for the first time since 2016, ending the NHL’s longest active streak.
“It’s just shocking,” forward John Tavares said of the Treliving news. “I think whenever you receive the news it’s shocking and you’re just disappointed.”
“A little shocking, to be honest,” echoed winger Matthew Knies. “Pretty abrupt. You know, not much of a notice right before the game. I feel like it was pretty close to the game, so not really enough time to digest it and think about it, really.”
Treliving won’t hide and will accept his share of the responsibility for a brutal year. Meanwhile, Craig Berube is about to coach the Maple Leafs tonight in Anaheim and sources say other than being made aware of Treliving’s fate, Berube has been given no indication of what his… https://t.co/7fHXzssF4Q
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 31, 2026
Berube was hired by Treliving in May 2024 after the Maple Leafs parted ways with Sheldon Keefe following another Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“He gave me an opportunity here, and I feel like we let him down this year,” Berube added Monday.
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.
This season, the Maple Leafs sit third last in the Eastern Conference with a 32-30-13 record have rarely sat in a playoff spot throughout the campaign. The Maple Leafs season will conclude on April 15 with a road game against the Ottawa Senators.
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.
