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Former NHL general manager Doug MacLean shared his strong opinion on the Toronto Maple Leafs'coach, Craig Berube, on Wednesday. He's not buying the growing narrative that the second-year head coach is to blame for the Leafs' midseason inconsistency.
Speaking on Daily Faceoff, MacLean took responsibility away from the bench and placed it squarely on the team's core players, which includes names such as Austin Matthews, William NylanderJohn Tavares, Morgan Rielly and Max Domi, etc.
“I don't think Craig Berube is the problem. I really don't,” MacLean said. “I mean, I think he's a good coach. Do I think he's a great coach? Probably not, but he's a good coach.
“I would love to see incredible pressure on these players. Treliving, Pelley, whoever the real boss is, come out and say: We're not going to do anything, and you better do it.”
MacLean's scathing criticism comes as the Leafs sit at 12-11-3, a far cry from their strong 8-5-1 start to the 2025-26 season. Despite averaging 3.42 goals per game, defensive lapses have undermined their progress, with the team allowing 3.46 goals per game, ranking near the bottom of the league.
The power play has also skyrocketed, highlighted by a costly mistake against the Florida panthers that MacLean said “This is an under-16 play”.
“I mean, a horrible game from all your best players on the team … and it really could have been a turning point,” MacLean said of the Panthers' Sam Reinhart goal. “So I'd love to see the pressure put squarely on the guys, and I think Craig is trying to do that.”
Craig Berube on the Leafs' strong 4-1 win over the Panthers
The Toronto Maple Leafs stayed strong and beat the Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday, showing what the team can be when fully engaged. Troy Stecher, Dakota Joshua, Scott Laughton and Tavares each had a goal, while Joseph Woll turned aside 26 shots in a complete team effort.
Craig Berube praised the performance as one of the fastest games this season.
“Nice win. I thought everybody contributed tonight,” Berube said, via NHL.com, “… He did a lot of good things tonight. It's good to see. Tonight was probably, I'd say, one of the more up-tempo games we've played all year. We shut people down and checked in. … The tempo was really good.”
Still, MacLean insists the blame must lie with Toronto's stars, not Craig Berube.
With outstanding efforts from Nylander and Tavares keeping Toronto afloat, the Leafs remain capable. However, unless his best players rise to the challenge, MacLean warns the team's woes won't go away anytime soon.
Edited by Ankit Kumar
