When Craig Berbue was hired, it was with the intention of turning the Toronto Maple Leafs into a playoff-ready team. This meant the Leafs would play with grit, attitude, and a mean forecheck.
And while Toronto finally made a second round again in last year’s playoffs, the way they lost did not change one bit. Craig Berube’s system got the Leafs by the Ottawa Senators (barely), but didn’t get them over the hump.
And now, with the Leafs looking about as bad as they’ve looked in the last nine years, it might be time to accept that Craig Berube is not the coach for this team.
Where is the fight?
The Toronto Maple Leafs look like a team that is sleepwalking through the season. They have no fight, don’t stand up for each other, and generally look lazy and uninterested. They’ve certainly looked bad in stretches in the last few seasons, but I don’t recall them looking like this.
Craig Berube was supposed to turn them into dawgs, igniting a fire in the core of this team that other coaches couldn’t unlock. His hard-nosed style was supposed to end the defining trait of the Leafs: that they are soft.
But when we watch Easton Cowan get thrown into the post without the puck, or cross-checked in the face with no response, it’s clear these are the same old Leafs. Other teams start brawls if you touch their rookie; the Leafs let you do it. Auston Matthews might skate over and put an arm around you, but that’s the worst you’ll get for hunting the Leafs’ rookie.
The same goes for running Anthony Stolarz. You want to attempt to injure Toronto’s only goalie? Go right ahead, the Leafs won’t stop you. They’ll sit back and watch, worried about being penalized, while their goalie has to stand up for himself.
Lack of toughness has been the identity of the Leafs for the last nine seasons, and Craig Beube was brought in to end it. He hasn’t even come close to doing that part of his job, and at this point, I’m not sure any coach ever will. Even the “tough” guys they brought in, namely Brandon Carlo and Nic Roy, aren’t actually tough. They’re just big.
At some point, Berube needs to take some of the blame for not motivating the players on this team.
The ugliest hockey you’ve ever watched
Under Sheldon Keefe, the Leafs were fun to watch. They created a ton of scoring chances, held possession of the puck, and were allowed to use their skill to punish other teams.
Now, the Leafs play the worst brand of “playoff hockey” you will ever see, playing a heavy dump-and-chase while rostering the slowest group of forwards in the league. Anyone with real speed (William Nylander, Nick Robertson) doesn’t forecheck, meaning the slow guys are left with that job.
This results in a cycle. The Leafs dump the puck in. Their slow forwards attempt to retrieve it behind the net. The opposing defenceman easily moves the puck towards the blueline before the Leafs get there. The opposing team exits the zone.
The Leafs do not possess the puck in the offensive zone. They don’t sustain pressure or generate chances off the cycle. Their only hope is scoring off the rush, but they only have three or four good transition players.
Now, a lot of this is on Brad Treliving and the way he’s built this team. But Berube’s lack of compromise or experimentation leaves this team playing the most boring, ineffective hockey we’ve seen in the Auston Matthews era.
When you employ Matthews and Nylander, they should be free to play for possession and offensive zone time. Forcing everyone to dump and chase is not the best approach.
Auston Matthews: M.I.A.
For some reason, Craig Berube sees Matthews as a defensive specialist who should play against other teams’ top lines. Who needs a 69-goal scorer, anyway?
Last season (Berube’s first with the Leafs), Matthews took less than 55% of his faceoffs in the offensive zone. The three years prior, this number was 59%, 65%, and 62%. Toronto had David Kampf’s line to match up against other stars, and Matthews was left to feast on weaker opposition.
To be fair to Berube, Matthews’ offensive zone faceoff percentage this year is back up to 60%. But the disconnect between the captain and coach seems massive.
Matthews has never been a physical, dump-and-chase player. He’s a good forechecker for sure, but it’s not his game. He needs to be allowed to carry the puck through the neutral zone and be given linemates that can do the same.
Clearly, there are major injury concerns going on as well. Matthews hasn’t looked like himself since going to Germany to get his back checked out, and it’s not fair to put all the blame on Berube if Matthews’ injury is a big deal.
But even if Matthews looked like himself, Berube’s game plan is ridiculous. He’s not putting his best player in a scenario to succeed, and it’s costing the team.
