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Berube could pull off feat no Toronto Maple Leafs coach has in 107 seasons

Adam Laskaris
Adam Laskaris
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Mar 21 2025, 8:00 pm
Berube could pull off feat no Toronto Maple Leafs coach has in 107 seasons
Geoff Burke/Imagn Images

When Craig Berube first took the job for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 59-year-old head coach was well aware of the pressure that came with the market.

A former member of the team during his playing days, Berube is well aware of the Leafs’ pressures for its first deep playoff run in more than two decades.

“I am focused on now and the future,” Berube said during his introductory press conference.

And with the season entering its final month — the Leafs wrap up their 82-game schedule on April 17 — Berube’s team is tied for first in the Atlantic Division with the Florida Panthers after a recent three-game win streak.

“It is the simple things — puck battles, competitiveness, on our toes playing and attacking. We are back to our identity. That is what I see,” Berube said after Thursday’s 4-3 win over the New York Rangers. “There are times when we don’t want to play direct enough. We want to play a different way. It gets you into trouble sometimes.”

Should Berube and the Leafs be able to win the division, he’d be making a bit of history along the way.

They’ve only won six division titles in their history and only two since the league’s expansion to 12 teams in 1967. If Berube does pull it out, he’d be the first Leafs coach ever to win the division in his first year, something none of his 40 predecessors have done in 107 seasons on the job.

Sheldon Keefe was able to win the division title in his first full season as Leafs coach, though there was a rather unique set of circumstances behind that one: it was a) a 56-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic throwing the NHL calendar out of whack and b) the seven Canadian teams that year have never all played in the same division before (or since).

Additionally, he took the job from Mike Babcock midway through the year the season prior, where they finished third in the Atlantic Division before the regular season was halted due to COVID-19.

But Berube hasn’t been doing it without a bit of help: as pointed out by Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne, the Atlantic Division hasn’t been exactly as competitive this year as in years past.

Though it’s maybe a matter of a few good circumstances going his way, Berube certainly has put the Leafs in a prime position to compete heading down the stretch drive of the season.

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