Toronto Maple Leafs Fire Coach Craig Berube, Citing 'Fresh Start'

The Toronto Maple Leafs fired coach Craig Berube on Wednesday.

Berube leaves the Leafs about a week and a half after the team hired John Chayka as their new GM and Mats Sundin as senior executive advisor of hockey operations.

"Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person," Chayka said in a news release. "This decision is more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig.

"We are grateful for his leadership, professionalism and commitment to the Maple Leafs organization and wish Craig and his family nothing but the best moving forward."

NHL Rumor Roundup: Latest Maple Leafs Buzz, Bruins To Seek A First-Line Center

Questions persist over new Maple Leafs GM John Chayka's off-season plans for the team, while the Boston Bruins could go shopping for a top-line center this summer.

Berube, 60, finishes his Leafs tenure with an 84-62-18 record in the regular season for a .567 points percentage. He went 7-6 in the playoffs.

The coach previously spent parts of four seasons coaching the St. Louis Blues from 2018-19 to 2021-22. He won the Stanley Cup with them in 2019 after taking over mid-season when the team was at the bottom of the standings.

Berube also coached seven games for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2013-14 season.

The former left winger played 1,054 NHL games, recording 61 goals, 98 assists, 159 points and 3,149 penalty minutes.

Maple Leafs Continue Their 'Fresh Start'

The Berube firing comes after about two weeks of changes to the Maple Leafs.

After hiring Chayka and Sundin, the Maple Leafs won the NHL draft lottery and the first overall pick last Wednesday. The popular public opinion predicts the Leafs will draft Gavin McKenna, although Ivar Stenberg has also been mentioned as a fit.

The team also parted with Shane Doan, the special assistant to the GM, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Hockey News

This story was originally published May 13, 2026 at 9:34 AM.