One of the axioms of pro sports is a general manager’s right to hire his own coach.
So it should come as no surprise that after one year on the job, and another first-round playoff exit, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving has gone in a new direction behind the bench.
On Friday, just eight days after Sheldon Keefe was shown the door, the Leafs announced that they’d hired Craig Berube as their 32nd coach in franchise history.
Terms were not disclosed, but according to CapFriendly, the contract is for four years.
Berube will be formally introduced to the media in Toronto on Tuesday.
Amid a tumultous time for NHL bench bosses, Berube came on the market when he was dismissed by the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 12, 2023.
He was best known for guiding the St. Louis Blues from last place in the league all the way to the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup when he took over as interim head coach midway through the 2018-19 season.
But the Blues struggled to replicate that success.
Their only other playoff success was a six-game triumph over the Minnesota Wild in the first round of 2022.
Then, they dropped by 28 points in the regular-season standings in the 2022-23 season, and missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.
Between 2018 and 2023, Berube put up a regular-season record of 206-132-24 over 456 games, for a .597 points percentage.
He had previously spent two seasons behind the bench of the Philadelphia Flyers between 2013 and 2015, where his points percentage was .553 over 161 games.
