Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has been pleased with the work ethic that his players have shown him in the early going of the 2024-25 season.
During a 1-on-1 interview with The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford in anticipation of Berube’s first game against the St. Louis Blues since being fired last December, the bench boss touched on several topics including how he feels his team has adjusted to his system. While it is still a work in progress, he feels good about the buy-in that he has seen from his players so far.
“I’ve been very happy with all the games except [Columbus],” he said. “The work ethic these guys put in is remarkable. I wasn’t sure when I got here, like, you know, the attitudes and work ethic and things like that. “But it’s been outstanding. They come every day, very professional, very prepared, put the work in at practice, and it’s really led by our captains. They want to do well, and they do what they have to do to prepare to do well, which is great.”
Of course, the one blemish in question was the Leafs’ most recent game against the Columbus Blue Jackets where they looked tired, unprepared, and out of sync en route to a 6-2 loss. Teams can’t win every single night, but they can sure try to which is what has been seen in other games regardless of how Toronto fared.
It is the result of the players being committed to listening to what Berube is preaching which was evident right from the start of what many players noted as a physically demanding camp. Results won’t emerge overnight and there are surely bound to be growing pains, but Leafs fans are already noticing the fruits of the new coach’s labour slowly starting to pay dividends.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is he had a good way of getting a buy-in from all lines, all D pairings and everybody,” Blues defenceman Colton Parayko said on what makes Berube successful. “It could be a challenge, I think, but he does a great job.”
Beyond the adjustments of implementing a new system, Berube is also dealing with getting accustomed to life under the bright lights of Toronto. He got an early taste of how hyper-focused the fanbase can be when a meeting with Mitch Marner over coffee went viral during the offseason.
Blues captain Brayden Schenn joked that his former coach will need to watch where he goes to get a beer now that he is living in Toronto. But make no mistake, Berube is enjoying his time in his new home and is more focused on the process of getting the Leafs to execute his vision consistently.
“We had a lot of success playing a certain way, and I think that’s a different style than the Toronto Maple Leafs have played over the years,” he said. “But I think our team has bought into it. I really do. I think the style of play that we played in St. Louis, it’s shown up here. Now, it’s not as consistent as I want it to be, but it’s on the right path.”
It may have been over 10 months since he was let go by the Blues, but Berube still has love for his former players and the city he called home for six seasons — including capturing the 2019 Stanley Cup. He praised Blues GM Doug Armstrong for pulling off offer sheets to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway, expressed excitement over Jake Neighbours getting an extension, and complimented St. Louis’ current team build.
Berube admitted that he will get emotional when he makes his return to St. Louis on November 2 and looks forward to reconnecting with people within the organization and in the city. He certainly will never forget his time in the Midwest, but he has also turned the page on that chapter of his life and looking ahead to helping the Maple Leafs win.
“In this game, you have a certain time limit for the most part,” Berube said on how his Blues tenure ended. “It was probably time to move on. That’s the way I look at it. I don’t really dwell on it. I had a great run there, a great time, and things happen. I knew that that could happen. You’ve got to move on from it, and I did.”
