Berube spotted ripping into Nylander on Leafs bench
When the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube earlier this year, he was never quite expected to be a coach who would stand with his hands in his pockets when things weren’t going well.
Known for having a bit of a fiery personality, Berube’s emotions were on full display on Tuesday night during Toronto’s 3-0 loss to the rival Ottawa Senators.
And for at least one moment caught by the TSN cameras, the target of his yelling appeared to be Toronto star forward William Nylander midway through the second period, with the Leafs having recently given up their third goal.
Craig isn't happy and rightly so pic.twitter.com/bVxGKV0cmr
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) November 13, 2024
Both Nylander and Berube addressed the situation following the game.
“I mean, you just hear him talking. I don’t see what he’s doing back there or whatever, but I think it’s great,” Nylander said after the game. “Sometimes it’s called for and the team needs a little bit of a wake-up call. That’s great.”
Nylander missed Monday’s practice for what the team called a “maintenance day,” but ended up playing 21:48 to lead all forwards in ice time.
“Willy showed bursts of things. He had the puck and did some things. But I’m not going to get into all of that, about why he wasn’t at practice the other day or any of this,” Berube said. “He was fine to play. That’s the bottom line.”
Without Auston Matthews in the lineup due to a nagging upper-body injury, the pressure is intensified for players like Nylander.
“There wasn’t much good to talk about with the game overall,” Berube added. “We got outskated. They wanted it more than us. That is the bottom line.”
Toronto will have a pretty quick turnaround for their next contest when they take on the Washington Capitals on the road on Wednesday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm ET.
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