Maple Leafs hire Craig Berube as head coach

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Friday that they hired former St. Louis Blues bench boss Craig Berube as their head coach.

Berube’s contract is for four years, reports TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

The 58-year-old led the Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019. He replaced Mike Yeo 19 games into that campaign and sparked an incredible turnaround, as the club was in last place around midseason. He was named a Jack Adams Award finalist that season.

Berube guided St. Louis to the postseason in each of the next three seasons, losing in Round 1 in 2020 and 2021, and Round 2 in 2022. The team missed the playoffs in 2023 and fired him after a 13-14-1 start to the 2023-24 campaign.

His only other NHL head coaching experience came with the Philadelphia Flyers from 2013-15, failing to advance past the first round of the playoffs.

Berube enjoyed a 1,054-game NHL playing career from 1986-2003 as an enforcer, racking up 159 points and 3,149 penalty minutes – the latter being the seventh most all time. The Calahoo, Alberta, native played 40 games for the Leafs during the 1991-92 season.

Welcome back, coach! pic.twitter.com/PZxWvQf9eW

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 17, 2024

Berube takes over for Sheldon Keefe, whom the Leafs fired after five seasons on the job.

His No. 1 task will be attempting to get Toronto over the hump in the playoffs. The Maple Leafs have made the postseason eight years in a row – tied for the longest active streak in the league – but only have one series victory to show for it. The franchise hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

Berube is the 32nd head coach in franchise history and the first hired during Brad Treliving’s tenure as general manager.

Blues fire Berube, name Bannister interim head coach

The St. Louis Blues fired head coach Craig Berube after the team’s 6-4 loss against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.

Berube had been the Blues’ bench boss since November 2018. Taking over head coaching duties from Mike Yeo, Berube won the Stanley Cup with the team while still having the interim tag in his first season.

The Blues are sixth in the Central Division with a 13-14-1 record after missing the playoffs in 2022-23. St. Louis has lost four straight games and is 3-7-0 in its last 10.

Over parts of six seasons with St. Louis, Berube accumulated a 206-132-44 record. He ranks third in franchise history in games coached (382) and wins.

Berube had a season and a half remaining on a three-year contract extension signed in February 2022. After their Stanley Cup triumph in 2019, his Blues only won a single playoff series: a six-game first-round victory over the Minnesota Wild in 2022.

St. Louis named Drew Bannister as interim head coach. Bannister was head coach of the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.

The 49-year-old had been behind the bench of the Blues’ AHL affiliate for six seasons over stints with the San Antonio Rampage, Utica Comets, and Thunderbirds.

Bannister coached the Thunderbirds to the Calder Cup Final in 2022. Springfield is 12-8-2 this season and ranks fourth in its division. He’s yet to coach in the NHL.

Bannister’s first game on an NHL bench will be Thursday in St. Louis, as the Blues host the Ottawa Senators.

Blues head coach: Binnington’s antics have ‘got to stop’

St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube seems to be tired of Jordan Binnington‘s antics after the goaltender stirred up more trouble Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“It’s got to stop. It doesn’t help anything,” Berube told reporters after his side’s 6-2 loss, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh. “Just play goal. Stop the puck.”

Binnington was handed a 10-minute misconduct for inciting early in the second period of Saturday’s contest versus the Penguins after letting in Pittsburgh’s fourth goal of the game.

After letting in 4 goals, Jordan Binnington was pulled and had some words for the Penguins bench. pic.twitter.com/G8m5R0Pv2c

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2022

The Blues pulled Binnington from the contest, and he had some words for the Penguins as he skated by their bench.

Here’s a closer look at the incident:

Actually, his night wasn't over just yet. First, Binnington got a 10-minute misconduct. Now his night is over. pic.twitter.com/6Gae8ArjWC

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) December 4, 2022

Per the rulebook, a player can receive a game misconduct if he “persists in any course of conduct (including threatening or abusive language or gestures or similar actions) designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty.”

It was quite the evening for Binnington, who avoided a penalty after hitting Penguins forward Jason Zucker in the face with his glove late in the first period.

Jordan Binnington just hit Jason Zucker in the face as he was skating around the net?!#LetsGoPens #STLBlues pic.twitter.com/KnPSo5Ptgt

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) December 4, 2022

Officials initially assessed Binnington a four-minute penalty for high-sticking but reversed the call after a review showed he hit Zucker with his glove instead of his stick, per The Athletic’s Rob Rossi.

But Zucker got his revenge in the second period, netting the fourth goal that ended Binnington’s night early.

The hot-headed netminder made 13 saves on 17 shots in the contest. He’s posted an .895 save percentage and a 3.27 goals against average to go along with a 9-10-0 record so far this season.

Binnington, 29, memorably made headlines during the Blues’ second-round series against Colorado in May after throwing an empty water bottle at former Avalanche player Nazem Kadri‘s head while the forward was giving a postgame interview.

Berube expects Tarasenko to start season with Blues

Craig Berube is operating under the assumption that disgruntled forward Vladimir Tarasenko will be in the St. Louis Blues‘ lineup on opening night.

“I expect Vladdy to play for us,” the Blues head coach said Tuesday on the “Cam and Strick Podcast.” “I’m going to treat him like every other player. Yeah, he asked to be traded, and things happened, but again, we want Vladdy to play good hockey for us.”

Berube indicated that nothing would change in terms of Tarasenko’s fit with the club.

“He’s going to have a role on the team like he always has,” the bench boss said. “We’ll deal with it internally and we’ll go from there.”

Tarasenko requested a trade early in the offseason and reportedly didn’t trust the club because he was upset with how it dealt with two of his three shoulder surgeries.

St. Louis then exposed him in the expansion draft. One day before the proceedings, Tarasenko’s surgeon said the winger’s shoulder was “100% ready” for the upcoming season. The Seattle Kraken ultimately picked Vince Dunn from the Blues.

Tarasenko was limited to 34 games over the last two campaigns due to his shoulder woes. He’s a five-time 30-goal scorer who netted a career-high 40 with St. Louis in 2015-16.

The Russian helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, posting 11 markers and six helpers in 26 playoff games that spring. Tarasenko ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time goals list with 218 in 531 contests, and he’s spent his entire nine-year career with St. Louis.

The 29-year-old is under contract through 2022-23 at a $7.5-million cap hit, according to CapFriendly.

Berube: Tarasenko ‘ready to go’ for postseason

The defending Stanley Cup champions will have their most talented scorer available if and when play resumes.

St. Louis Blues sniper Vladimir Tarasenko is on the mend after being out of action since late October.

“He’s good,” Blues head coach Craig Berube told The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford on the “We Went Blues” podcast.

“Before we stopped, he was ready to come back the next week and play, so, he did a great job of getting himself back,” Berube continued. “He did a great job with his rehab, along with the training staff, and he kept himself in great shape. He actually came back in better shape than he came to camp (in September) … He’s been on the ice and doing things right now, so he’s ready to go.”

Tarasenko was hurt during a game on Oct. 24 and had shoulder surgery performed five days later. He was given a timetable of at least five months the day before the procedure.

The 28-year-old forward collected three goals and 10 points in 10 games before the injury. He led the Blues with 33 goals in 2018-19 and played a key role in their championship run, posting 11 markers and 17 points in 26 playoff games that spring.

Tarasenko led St. Louis in goals for five consecutive campaigns before 2019-20, notching at least 30 in each one and burying 40 in 2015-16.

Blues reward HC Craig Berube with 3-year deal

Fresh off the first Stanley Cup win in franchise history, the St. Louis Blues signed head coach Craig Berube to a three-year contract, the team announced Tuesday.

“This is a proud day for me and my family,” Berube said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for this team and this organization and the city of St. Louis has embraced me as one of their own. This past season was the experience of a lifetime and I’m anxious to get started on our title defense.”

Berube took over as interim head coach after the Blues fired Mike Yeo on Nov. 19, and then led the team to a 38-19-6 record.

In the process, the 53-year-old helped lead one of the biggest turnarounds in NHL history, as the Blues sat last in the league on Jan. 3 before going 30-10-5 down the stretch to claim the third spot in the Central Division.

For his efforts, Berube was named a finalist for the 2019 Jack Adams Award as the league’s best coach. He originally joined the Blues as an associate coach in June 2017.

Blues GM Armstrong says coaching search a ‘list of one’

It sounds likely that St. Louis Blues interim head coach Craig Berube will be assuming his duties on a permanent basis next season.

Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said Friday that his search for a future head coach is down to “a list of one.”

“When we asked Craig to take over the team, we were in flux at that point,” Armstrong said, according to the St.Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. “I said to Craig: ‘You take over on the interim basis and we’ll go from there.’

“And as I started to work with Craig, whatever name was on the (candidate) list started to get crossed off and crossed off … then I found the synergy that Craig and I have had. Now we’re at a list of one.”

Berube was nominated for the 2019 Jack Adams Award after orchestrating one of the biggest single-season turnarounds in NHL history. Under Berube, the Blues became the first team in the NHL expansion era (since 1967-68) to win a playoff series after ranking last at any point after New Year’s Day (minimum 20 games played), per NHL Public Relations.

Berube, Cooper, Trotz named Jack Adams Award finalists

St. Louis Blues head coach Craig Berube, Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss Jon Cooper, and Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders are the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award, the NHL announced Friday.

Berube took over for the fired Mike Yeo in November, guiding the Blues to a significant turnaround and a 38-19-6 record over their final 63 games. St. Louis finished third in the Central Division, qualifying for the postseason after winning only seven of its first 19 contests.

Under Cooper, the Lightning captured the Presidents’ Trophy with a mark of 62-16-4, posting one of the best regular-season records in NHL history.

Trotz helped the Islanders finish second in the Metropolitan Division in his first season with the club, completely transforming them into a defensive juggernaut.

Report: Flyers will attempt to trade Vincent Lecavalier during offseason

Here we go again.

For the second straight summer, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall will attempt to unload Vincent Lecavalier via trade, according to Tim Panaccio of CSN.

While Lecavalier’s agent confirmed the Flyers didn’t submit a buyout offer on the veteran forward’s contract, Hextall seems intent on trying to trade him, saying the union “hasn’t worked for him and it hasn’t worked for us.”

The 35-year-old four-time All-star endured a contentious relationship with former head coach Craig Berube, saying he couldn’t succeed with the club as long as he was behind the bench. Berube, however, was recently supplanted as head coach by Dave Hakstol, but that doesn’t appear to be enough to salvage the relationship.

Lecavalier appeared in only 57 games last season, recording eight goals and 12 assists while averaging a career-low 12:39 of ice time. He’s only one season removed from scoring 20 goals in 69 games, and clearly believes he has gas left in the tank.

A trade may not be easy, considering Lecavalier has three years and $13.5 million remaining on his deal, but Hextall will do his best to find a partner, possibly as soon as the NHL Draft on June 26.

Flyers fire head coach Berube; reportedly eyeing Babcock, McLellan, Julien

The Philadelphia Flyers have fired head coach Craig Berube.

Berube amassed a record of 75-58-28 in 161 games as head coach. The dismissal comes as no surprise after the Flyers, who had one of the highest payrolls in the league, missed the postseason.

General manager Ron Hextall said Berube failed to take the Flyers to the next level.

“I wanted to make the right decision. I put all the facts together, but in the end, you go with your gut,” Hextall said. “You’re looking for the coach who fits your team. In the end, we’re looking for the guy to take the group to another level.

“Is the coach the right coach for your team now? If the answer is no, you have to move on. That’s what we did here. I would like to have a guy in place by the draft. That’s the goal … But we’re going to do our due diligence.

“Craig Berube is a good friend of mine; he’s a terrific man. But professionally, I have an obligation to do what I think is best.”

The rest of the coaching staff is still employed for now, Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly reports.

A trio of employed coaches in other organizations are reportedly on the Flyers’ radar. According to Panaccio:

A league source said the Flyers had their eye on three current NHL coaches who could be free in the weeks ahead: Detroit’s Mike Babcock, whose contract is expiring, Boston’s Claude Julien and San Jose’s Todd McLellan.

Babcock will be the most sought after coaching free agent when his deal expires at season’s end, but his Detroit Red Wings are alive and well in the playoffs.

Julien remains head coach of the Boston Bruins for the time being, in the aftermath of Peter Chiarelli’s dismissal.

McLellan’s future as head coach of the San Jose Sharks could be determined before he joins the Canadian national team at the world championship later this month.