The 2025-26 NHL Season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, which began with plenty of promise and expectations despite the departure of Ontario’s own Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights, has spiraled nearly completely out of control in recent weeks.
They are currently tied for the last place spot in the Atlantic Division standings, and would miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a decade if they were to begin today.
Their most recent setback, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the struggling New York Rangers, who are also at the very bottom of their own respective division, was the latest in what has become a series of disappointing finishes for a team that appears destined to be going nowhere fast.
Head coach Craig Berube, who is starting to face scrutiny regarding his job security beyond this season, wasn’t able to hide his frustration.
____________________________________________________________
Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach Craig Berube Unloaded On His Team
Following the loss to the Rangers, which gave them their first regulation victory at Madison Square Garden in over 100 days, Berube unloaded his disappointment in how his players performed and made it clear in no uncertain terms that he was upset about it.
“I am definitely frustrated and pissed off,” Berube said afterward. “The games are right there. We don’t push as a team hard enough to win them.”
Regardless of how bad things get, Berube still expects his players to act as the highly-paid professionals that they are.
“Whether it is or not, we are pros,” Berube answered when asked if the losing is affecting the club’s psyche. “We all have to do our job. You have to stick with the plan. We don’t, and this is what happens.”
Berube also lamented the odd-man rushes that Toronto surrendered, leading to easy offensive chances for the Rangers, who have struggled to score goals all season long.
“We gave up odd-man rushes in the third,” he said. “We didn’t give up one the whole game. And then we give up two or three in the third period, and it is in our net a couple of times.
In the third period, it is just a commitment to doing things hard and blocking shots. We didn’t do it, and they scored.”
____________________________________________________________
What Is Craig Berube’s Level Of Job Security?
Berube, who led the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2019, was hired by the Maple Leafs in 2024 to bring a new level of accountability to a club desperately looking to take the next step.
While Berube was able to guide the Leafs to just their second postseason series victory since 2004 last spring over the Ottawa Senators, they once again faltered when it mattered most, surrendering a two-games-to-none lead over the Florida Panthers and eventually suffering another embarrassing home defeat in a series-deciding Game 7.
Now, with the Maple Leafs all but guaranteed to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, the discussion in hockey circles has understandably shifted to what Berube’s level of job security is.
Craig Berube Unloads Anger On Maple Leafs After Latest Loss