Leafs reveal how many coaches they interviewed before Berube hire

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a new voice behind the bench next year.

But before they got to Craig Berube, who was officially hired last Friday, it sounds like the team went through quite the interview process before landing on Sheldon Keefe’s replacement.

“In our year-end press conference, I said at that time that the top priority was to find the next coach and the new head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Really, from that day forward, that’s really what I’ve immersed myself into, and it’s been sort of a nonstop process over that time,” Toronto general manager Brad Treliving said on Tuesday.

“First step was really to identify a profile before we started to get out into the field and meet and talk with candidates. It was really to build a profile of the individual that we felt was going to come in and be the best fit,” he added.

Other names rumoured in the interview process included Gerard Gallant, as well as Todd McLellan.

“I met and talked with several individuals. I’m not going to necessarily get into names and whatnot, but I think it was upwards of nine individuals that I met with or spoke with,” Treliving said.

Berube, who won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, also offered up his take on how he wants his Leafs teams to play.

“Competitive. We don’t want to get outworked ever. We want to be highly competitive every night. It is all about the team for me. That is one of the things I really focus on. That is part of building a team. Everybody is important on a team. Everyone has to be used on a team. They all have jobs and roles on the team. That is a really important aspect for me,” Berube said.

Berube has quite the task ahead of him, with Toronto looking to rid themselves of their postseason struggles. While they’ve qualified for the postseason eight years in a row, they’ve managed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs just once.

“When you have to hold a player accountable for whatever — it could be ice time or whatever the situation is — they understand it more. Communication is huge. One of my strengths is that I am a great communicator with my players,” Berube added. “They know where they stand. I am going to tell them when they are playing well, when they are not playing well, and what they need to improve upon.”

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