TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Craig Berube on Wednesday after he guided the team to a last-place finish in the NHL's Atlantic Division this past season.
The move ended Berube's two-year run with the Maple Leafs. He helped the club to a 108-point campaign in his first season as coach, but Toronto struggled mightily in 2025-26.
GM explains decision
Toronto general manager John Chayka said the decision was made shortly after he met with Berube to discuss his future.
"This was the right decision on the path ahead," Chayka said Wednesday. "It was a difficult decision. It was not a verdict on Craig's coaching. I think it stands for itself."
Chayka suggested that Berube hoped to return next season. "I think Craig, his heart's in it. That's the kind of guy he is. I think he felt like he had a lot of unfinished business."
Chayka said he didn't "make this decision in a vacuum" and that the coaching change is part of a broader restructuring with senior executive director of hockey operations Mats Sundin.
Search for replacement
Chayka was hired earlier this month. He succeeded Brad Treliving, who was let go in March. The GM said he will conduct a "wide-ranging" search for Berube's replacement.
"We'll take our time and try to get it right," he said. "It's the most critical decision as a general manager."
Season performance
Berube went 84-62-18 with Toronto, but the Maple Leafs were just 32-36-14 this past season. The drop in points — from 108 to 78 — was the team's largest year-over-year points decline.
The Maple Leafs headed into this past season with high hopes despite the loss of star winger Mitch Marner. Toronto added a trio of forwards — Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy — in hopes of replacing those minutes by committee.
Despite a roster still anchored by star forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the Maple Leafs' power play was a huge issue. Defensive deficiencies also caused glaring problems for a club that finished with the second-worst goals-against mark.
Locker room issues
"They played with more passion than we did," Berube told reporters in December after a 4-0 road loss to the Washington Capitals. "That's what it boils down to."
Asked to explain how that could be the case, he replied: "Ask those guys, not me." The exchange was one example of a clear disconnect.
Matthews found the back of the net just 27 times before suffering a season-ending knee injury on an ugly hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas in March.
Toronto's players didn't do much in the immediate aftermath, which led to stinging rebukes from Berube, media members and fans as the locker-room culture was called into question.
Asked about what impact Matthews' future with the club had on Wednesday's decision, Chayka said: "None. Zero."
Berube's tenure
Berube, 60, was hired in May 2024 after Treliving let Sheldon Keefe go following 4½ seasons in charge.
Toronto won a playoff round for just the second time in the NHL's salary-cap era during his first campaign. The Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins in seven games before falling to the Florida Panthers in the second round.