Demanding, not demeaning

Berube’s rep for holding players accountable without alienating was big selling point

- DAVE FESCHUK

New Leafs coach Craig Berube knows what it’s like to drink from the Stanley Cup, having led the St. Louis Blues to the 2019 championship.

Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving reeled off the reasons Craig Berube spent Tuesday being introduced as the new head coach of the NHL’s biggest playoff underachievers.

And all the reasons made sense. The Leafs needed someone with the ability to teach. And in that respect Berube — Treliving said he’s been assured by people who know — is “quietly brilliant,” a real tactician.

The Leafs needed someone with the ability to command respect. So it follows that they hired someone with a 2019 Stanley Cup ring, not to mention a former NHL enforcer with 200-plus fights and 1,000-plus games in the NHL. Treliving defined one of the characteristics he was looking for as “presence.”

“Either you have it or you don’t,” Treliving said. “Craig has it.”

Great. Congrats, coach. Enjoy your generous feeding at the seemingly bottomless MLSE trough, from which predecessor Sheldon Keefe is owed a two-year extension still yet to kick in. Still, don’t get too cocky.