The Toronto Maple Leafs have made wholesale changes to the roster, staff, front office and the organization over the past year or so. This off-season has been heavy in that regard, with the addition of GM John Chayka and the faces he brought in to support him.
One major change that Chayka executed was with the head coach, firing Craig Berube on May 13 and eventually bringing in Jim Hiller.
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Since Berube was let go, he hasn’t spoken much about the disastrous 2025-26 campaign in Toronto, which saw them miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 10 years. However, as a guest on Simmer’s Morning Skate, Berube opened up about a key aspect that was missing from the team this past year.
Rob Simpson, host of the show, asked Berube who the emotional centerpiece of the Leafs team was that he had coached through the past two years.
“Mitch Marner,” Berube said firmly. “Mitch brought the energy and the emotion to the game, I thought, on a nightly basis and in practice. Vocal guy, chatted a lot on the bench, chatted a lot in practice. When he came back to the bench, he’d let guys know, ‘pick it up, let’s go.’
“He was great, I really enjoyed coaching him,” the former Leafs’ bench boss added.
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Along with what Marner brought to the table as an all-around talent, Berube admitted it was a heavier loss because of what he did off the ice.
“I thought we lost our emotional leader, for sure,” Berube said. “It was a big loss, not only the player, but in the locker room, on the bench, in practices, things like that. I thought that he brought that element. I thought he held guys accountable.”
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In Marner’s one season under Berube, before being moved to the Vegas Golden Knights for the 2025-26 season, the right winger put up a career-high 102 points, finishing fifth in league scoring.
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