Craig Berube's Former Coach Shares How the Stanley Cup Champion Could Transform the Maple Leafs' Game

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Chris Gerics
October 17, 2024 (6:28 PM)

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Former NHL coach Mike Keenan commented on the hiring of Craig Berube as coach of the Maple Leafs and had high praise for his style and what he brings to the team.

Having coached in the NHL for 20 years, Mike Keenan knows a thing or two about how to get the best out of his players. Winning the Stanley Cup while coach of the New York Rangers, and ranking 15th all-time in games won, Keenan's successful tenure as a coach endeared him to fans and players alike for his non-nonsense style and tough love towards his team, and found a stretch of playoff success that lasted eleven straight seasons. Does that sound familiar?

So when Keenan got word that one of his former players Craig Berube ended up hired as the new bench boss for the Toronto Maple Leafs, he wasn't surprised. Speaking on the Leafs Morning Take podcast hosted by Nick Alberga and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill, Keenan spoke about his faith in Berube and how Toronto should listen to their new coach:

"I saw that move and I wasn't surprised. I coached Craig, the Leafs are in good hands with him. I'm hoping that they can learn over the course of the season from him and from his staff what it takes to win and be prepared for playoff hockey."

Old-School Is New Once Again

Keenan also related that Berube's old-school style of gritty hockey may feel out of place in today's NHL but that it's worked in the past, and could very well work out again:

"Paul Maurice is a friend, and had been in the league for years and he reset the time clock a little bit and found a little bit of old school style play to win the Stanley Cup. It's a copycat league, and I think that other teams will follow suit. He also had (Matthew) Tkachuk who learned from his dad; different generation, and they inserted that into their program."

Berube's style of coaching was in full force on Wednesday night, as even though Toronto had a comfortable 5-0 lead, they quickly gave up two goals which led to Berube calling a timeout and then going wild on the bench with some colorful words to back up his point. Keenan didn't think it was too shocking to see Berube pull the move though, as he understands how crucial it is for your team to not get too complacent:

"It didn't surprise me. The immediacy, the moment, he wanted to prevent a slide or it's a you know, it's a soft landing, we got a big lead here we go, we're just gonna coast in; it doesn't happen that way. You've gotta play hard for 60 minutes, and he was delivering that message at that point. It was a good timeout for the Maple Leafs."

You've got to credit Berube. He's the polar opposite of Sheldon Keefe, who does not get animated as much as Berube and doesn't motivate his players the same way. Where Sheldon Keefe felt like he let the inmates run the asylum at times, Berube will reign with an iron fist; and it's refreshing to see something so ancient and once forgotten be rebuilt into something powerful.

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Should old-school coaches like Mike Keenan and Craig Berube's style be implemented more often?
Yes! It's worked before hasn't it?	225	85.9 %
No! We need to adapt to the future!	37	14.1 %
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