Craig Berube one-on-one: Former Blues coach on why it was “time to move on” and life with the Leafs

TORONTO – When Craig Berube was with the St. Louis Blues, it was fairly common to see the coach sitting alone in Paul Manno's restaurant, eating dinner and sipping a cold drink.

In Toronto, well…just days into his tenure as Maple Leafs coach, there were paparazzi pictures of Berube meeting his new players around town.

“Yeah, Chief has to watch his beer now,” joked Blues captain Brayden Schenn. “He probably has a few local bars that he hangs out at.”

When The athlete When Berube asked in a one-on-one interview this week about the public attention he enjoys in the hockey capital of the world, the coach's familiar laugh could be heard on the other end of the phone.

“Oh, the media was fine,” Berube said. “There are a lot of them, but it is what it is. You just take care of it, right? But it's okay. The city is great. The people are great. They love hockey here and just want the team to do well.”

Under Berube, Toronto has done pretty well through the first seven games of the season. The Maple Leafs are 4-3 when they host the Blues at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night. They have wins over the New Jersey Devils, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning, but are coming off a 6-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

“I was very happy with all the games except (Columbus),” Berube said. “The work ethic of these guys is remarkable. When I got here I wasn't sure about the attitudes, work ethic and things like that.

“But it was excellent. They come every day, very professional, very prepared, put the work into practice and it's really led by our captains. They want to do well and they’re doing what they need to do to prepare for that, which is great.”

Craig Berube was impressed with the leadership group in Toronto. (Dan Hamilton/USA Today)

After Toronto's first-round playoff loss last season, the Maple Leafs fired Sheldon Keefe and replaced him with Berube, who they hope can get the club to play like the hard-nosed Blues, who won the Stanley Cup in 2019 have.

“We've had a lot of success playing a certain way, and I think that's a different style than what the Toronto Maple Leafs have played over the years,” Berube said. “But I think our team embraced it. I really do. I think the style of play we played in St. Louis is shown here. Now it’s not as consistent as I would like, but it’s on the right track.”

It takes time, but as Blues players can attest, Berube will get his message across eventually.

“I think the most important thing is that he had a good opportunity to get buy-in from all the lines, all the D pairings, from everyone,” Blues defenseman Colton Parayko said. “It could be a challenge, I think, but he’s doing a great job.”

Now, in Game No. 8 on Toronto's schedule, Berube faces Schenn, Parayko and others he coached in St. Louis.

“It will definitely be different,” Berube said. “I’m looking forward to the game and seeing some people. I've made a lot of good friends on this site – players, coaches, management and so on. I'm sure I'll meet them and I'm looking forward to it. But I'm just focused on the game and how we want to play. We need to recover here because we were beaten last night.”

He watched some video of the Blues, who are also 4-3 after a 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.

“I think they’re playing pretty good defense right now,” he said. “They made some changes and brought in (Philip) Broberg. He seems like a good player. They added some players to their team, which helped. It seems like their goaltending was pretty strong as well.”

The additions of Broberg and Dylan Holloway were impressive, but not a surprise to Berube after watching Blues general manager Doug Armstrong closely for many years.

“Nice, smart move,” Berube said. “I mean, look at Edmonton, they had cap issues and the players are really old and did their best in the playoffs last year. Doug is a smart guy and he's watching. He has the overview. He made a very good offer and brought in two good players. That's part of the game, right? You can do that.”

Likewise, Armstrong on Tuesday locked Jake Neighbors for two more years, with a contract extension that will pay him $3.75 million in 2025-26 and 2026-27. The young striker had a breakout season in 2023/24.

“I’m really happy for Jake,” Berube said. “I like him very much. He is a player you want to have on your team. Each team would add Jake Neighbors to their team. He's a guy with heart and soul and he gives you everything he's got in every game. That’s the type of guy you want on your team.”

But aside from keeping in touch with his former players and supporting them individually, Berube said he doesn't think too hard about the team's decision to let him go after coming in with a 13-14-1 record the 2023/24 season had started.

“For the most part, this game has a specific time limit,” Berube said. “It was probably time to move on. That's how I see it. I don't really go into it. I had a great run there, a great time and things happen. I knew this could happen. You have to get on with it, and that’s what I did.”

However, the Blue Note logo will always have great meaning for Berube.

“It was a special time,” he said. “Listen, it's hard to win and we did it. I'll never forget that. I will always appreciate St. Louis. Always. This will never go away.”

Craig Berube lifts the trophy as Blues coach in 2019. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

When Toronto visits St. Louis in nine days on Nov. 2 at the Enterprise Center, the city will get a chance to show Berube what he means to them. He already admits that it will be emotional.

“That will definitely be it for me,” said Berube. “The city in general, the people, they were great for me. My time there was great. I made a lot of friends and really enjoyed it there. The organization is also something special. I was treated very well there.”

Schenn could already hear the ovations from the fans that evening.

“Oh, he’ll get everything he deserves,” Schenn said. “This is a guy who helped our team win the Stanley Cup and he’s the first coach to win it (for the Blues). Aside from coaching, just the persona, how he treated everyone in town, he had time for everyone. He was a guy who loved the city and fit in so well.

“He will always be loved here and he is definitely a coach that the guys in this locker room have a lot of respect for. He’s a guy who came to work every day to make the team (better) and was honest with everyone.”

Will Berube burst into tears on the Toronto bench as the Blues play a video tribute to him?

“That won’t happen,” he said expressionlessly.

(Top photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)