Reporter asks Leafs Craig Berube the most ridiculous question and he will have none of it

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Daniel Lucente
September 25, 2024 (5:04 PM)

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Coaches in sports are used to being asked weird questions by reporters, and Leafs Craig Berube just encountered his first one as the team's new head coach.

When Craig Berube accepted the head coaching duties of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he probably knew what awaited him. Coming in with an impressive resume that included leading the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup win in 2019, Berube came with plenty of experience. But this coaching duty with the Toronto Maple Leafs is very different from any other. The Toronto media, with the added pressure brought on by the fanbase of the Maple Leafs, is notorious for being one of the toughest there is. Berube got his first real dose of that pressure in a post-game interview last night.

The 2024-25 season is just around the corner, and naturally, there will be sky-high expectations for the Leafs. Unfortunately for Berube, the team hasn't exactly gotten off to the most encouraging start, having lost back-to-back preseason games to the Ottawa Senators. Preseason losses aren't the end of the world, but the Toronto media isn't exactly known for keeping a level head for any length of time. When a reporter said perhaps it's time to panic after those losses, the look on Berube's face, a mixture of shockness and mirth, pretty much said it all.

"No. It's preseason. It's preseason, so... We're looking at preparing for the regular season. It's the second game. We're looking at young guys. We're looking at players. So, you know, that's what it's about."

- Craig Berube

This was evidenced when Alex Steeves, a player considered quite new to the NHL, with only seven games to his name, scored the team's only goal in their last outing. Of course, that needs to be framed within its context, as a number of Toronto stars, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner among them, didn't dress for the game. Yes, their absence did have much to do with the performance, yet it did not preclude the media panic from setting in. Berube comes in after Sheldon Keefe, who was let go following yet another frustrating playoff exit by the Maple Leafs in 2024 to the Boston Bruins. The hungry Toronto fanbase wants postseason success, and so does the front office, meaning it will be incumbent upon Berube to deliver such a product.

Immediately after his first preseason loss, Craig Berube made a point to note how the team needs to clean up its puck management and sharpen its game if they want to be competitive. Suffice it to say, the first taste Berube got of life as head coach of the Leafs was that the pressure in Toronto is second to none. Preseason losses aren't cause for immediate concern, but the road ahead will indeed be tough, and Berube knows full well that ultimate success is going to be defined in the playoffs. At this juncture, he's taking it all in stride, but as the regular season draws near, that's when real challenges start cropping up.