The 2025-26 NHL season was about as miserable as it gets for the and when you factor in the fact that the team recently hired a new GM, it was hard not to think a coaching change was imminent.
Well, now it's official: Craig Berube has been let go.
The Leafs fired former GM Brad Treliving late in the season and recently hired controversial former Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka, with franchise legend Mats Sundin as an advisor.
Obviously, when a team's division, some changes need to be made, and one of the first of those changes was parting ways with Berube.
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Berube had won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and joined the Leafs ahead of the 2024-25 season.
His first season ended with a second-round playoff elimination, so obviously, this season was a massive step in the wrong direction.
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"Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person," Chayka said in a statement. "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."
The new GM didn't get into details about his big-picture plans for the team, per Leafs Nation, but he did say that his discussions with captain and star player Auston Matthews did not factor into his decision to fire Berube.
Those talks with Matthews are hugely important as well. The 28-year-old has two years left on his deal, and Chayka has to decide how he factors into the team's plans, or if Matthews even wants to stay in Toronto.
Those plans will also likely involve Penn State star Gavin McKenna, who the Leafs are likely to select with the first-overall pick in this year's draft.
