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I wanted to dislike the hiring of Craig Berube as head coach of the Maple Leafs.
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I wanted to call it convenient, all too quick, bringing in a middle-of-the-pack Stanley Cup winner, with an otherwise average coaching record, to take over a club in need of major alterations.
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Then I started asking people I trust about Berube.
People in hockey. People up high. Accomplished general managers and coaches. And I was surprised by their answers.
They more than like Berube as a coach. They believe in him. They think his style and his personality might be the complete opposite of that of the fired Sheldon Keefe at a time when opposite may, in fact, be necessary.
“Other than the big dogs, who is better than Craig?” asked a lifetime NHL coach in response to a question. “If you’re not going to get (Jon) Cooper and you’re not going to get Lavi (Peter Laviolette) or DeBoer (Peter DeBoer), who’s better?
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“Craig’s best quality is he builds team. He’s a motivator. He can inspire people to do uncomfortable things. You need that in hockey. He knows the game and he’s a lot more creative than people realize. He’s not a my-way-or-the-highway kind of coach. He’ll work with you. He’ll give you lots of rope. He believes in second chances.
“Listen, the value system in Toronto needs to change. It’s going to take a whole coaching staff, not just Craig, to get that done. That’s the commitment here. To get that value system to change and I believe he can do that.”
A current high end GM was asked to rate the coaches in the Atlantic Division in order and he went: 1. Cooper, Tampa; 2. Berube; 3. Jim Montgomery, Boston; 4. Paul Maurice, Florida.
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The ranking more than surprised me.
When I asked why he had Berube ahead of Montgomery and Maurice, he said: “presence and leadership.
“He has instant credibility in an NHL locker room. He won a Stanley Cup, he knows what he doesn’t know and is comfortable with that. He cares and players care in return. This is the most opposite hire of what I believe Sheldon was.”
THIS AND THAT
That Berube won a Stanley Cup in St. Louis has basically zero meaning now that he is coaching the Leafs. Randy Carlyle won a Stanley Cup in Anaheim before arriving in Toronto. How’d that one work out? … Toronto Sun hockey writer Terry Koshan pointed out that only one coach in the modern history of the NHL has won a Cup coaching more than one team. And that man happened to be Scotty Bowman … A list of middle-of-the- pack coaches were one-time Cup winners. Among them: Al MacNeil, Jean Perron, Dan Bylsma, Bob Hartley, Terry Crisp, Tom Johnson … Great coaches who haven’t won Cups: Pat Quinn, Roger Neilson, DeBoer, Ron Wilson, Maurice, Alain Vigneault, Bryan Murray, Bruce Boudreau … Curious to have heard the exchange of ideas between Berube and general manager Brad Treliving during the interview process. Wonder what Treliving said when Berube asked: “Who’s our goalie?” or “What are we doing with Mitch Marner?” … The team Berube has agreed to coach may not exactly look like the team on paper in late May … Freddy being Freddy. Where have you seen this before? Freddy Andersen did to the Carolina Hurricanes what he did to the Leafs way too often. He let it in a terrible goal with Carolina leading 3-1 in the third period of Game 6. The series with New York should have gone to a seventh game. The crappy goal — see Leafs vs. Capitals, Leafs vs. Bruins playoff time — is almost impossible to recover from … I give up. I don’t know what goalie interference is anymore, if I ever knew. And I don’t know cross checking is anymore, if I ever knew … My first choice to coach the Leafs, if available, was Joel Quenneville. My second choice, if available, was Rod Brind’Amour. The question of availability is a moving target.
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A number of teams have approached the NHL of late to inquire about Quenneville’s availability and some have contacted the former coach directly. Still, no word on what it will take to clear him after the sexual assault scandal from Quenneville’s staff with the Blackhawks of 2010. But teams did call the league. Leafs may also have inquired about Brind’Amour’s circumstance before finalizing the decision on Berube.
HEAR AND THERE
For those counting, this is 11 seasons for Nathan MacKinnon — five of them with Cale Makar and just one Stanley Cup. It tells you, teams win championships in hockey, individuals do not … Anyone who says Valeri Nichushkin quit on the Colorado Avalanche doesn’t comprehend the power of addiction. … “Look who’s left in the playoffs?” a former coach of giant credentials asked me. “Teams coached by Lavi, by Paul Maurice, by Pete (DeBoer) and by (Rick) Tocchet. Never mind retreads. Having that experience matters. And being comfortable in your own skin, that’s very important for a coach.” … When Berube won his Cup, he had Alex Pietrangelo, future Hall of Famer, on defence. When Bruce Cassidy won his Cup in Vegas, he had Alex Pietrangelo. When Carlyle won he had Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer on defence. When Quenneville won he had Duncan Keith. When Darryl Sutter won, he had Drew Doughty. When Cooper won, he had Victor Hedman. Berube now has Morgan Rielly. One of these things is not like the other … There is no evidence to indicate that either Leafs’ captain John Tavares or Marner will waive their no-trade arrangements this summer. But this much we know: If they do waive, there are teams interested in both those players and the prices they’re willing to pay is somewhat surprising … Berube has never coached a player who has scored more than 37 goals in a season. That was Jordan Kyrou, in Berube’s last full season with the Blues. Now coach, meet Auston Matthews … NHL teams still looking for coaches — Winnipeg, Seattle, Los Angeles, New Jersey, San Jose and we’re not sure about Columbus because the Blue Jackets don’t have a general manager … NHL goaltenders have never been better equipped or better prepared to play. But while they’re consumed with technique, too many still don’t know how to read the game or the play. It makes for more great stops and more dubious goals against than ever before … Ed Belfour was the most economical goalie I’ve ever seen up close. He was always square to the puck. He rarely made a great save because he didn’t have to … In my next life, I want to come back as a TSN network programmer. That way two channels won’t have bull riding on at the same time that Overdrive isn’t found on any of the five TSN channels … Love you Darren Dutchyshen. Always have. Always will. Rest well, big man.
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SCENE AND HEARD
Is there anything less meaningful than Ross Atkins talking process and patience? The Blue Jays couldn’t hit last year. They couldn’t score last year. They can’t hit this year. The can’t score this year. His process doesn’t work. My patience is over. The next thing I want to hear Atkins say: “Anybody know a good real estate agent?” … It’s not your money or mine, and there is no salary cap in baseball, but the fact that George Springer is signed for two more seasons at $25 million a pop is almost offensive. The more Springer plays, the worse he plays. All this for $149,176 per game. Springer, by the way, turns 35 in September … The Blue Jays first World Series win in 1992 seems even more impressive when you look back at who was pitching for Atlanta. Hall of famer Tom Glavine started two games. Hall of famer John Smoltz started two games. And 22-year-old ace Steve Avery started two games. The Jays won the Series but scored only 17 runs in six games played … The next year, the Jays scored 45 runs in six games over Philadelphia with should be hall of famer, Curt Schilling making two starts for the Phillies. Roberto Alomar hit .480 in that World Series and Paul Molitor hit .458, scoring 10 runs and knocking in seven others … And since then, no World Series … When Yoshinobu Yamamoto was getting lit up in spring training, the narrative was the Dodgers wasted all that money signing the Japanese free agent. But since the season started Yamamoto has a 4-1 record with a 3.21 earned run average in nine starts in Los Angeles … Next time I hear someone lecturing me about how hard Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hits the ball, I will happily point out that Luis Arraez, batting champion of both the American and National Leagues, doesn’t hit the ball very hard and has a .324 lifetime average … If my math works and I hope it doesn’t, the young fireballer Paul Skenes will not pitch in Toronto the weekend the Pittsburgh Pirates are here at the end of the month. Skenes made his second big league start on Friday, pitched six innings, allowed no hits, struck out 11 in Chicago to register his first career win. He’s scheduled to pitch, barring rain-outs, in games before and after the Blue Jays series … After this weekend, Jays play 10 games against the dreadful White Sox and the semi-dreadful Tigers. This is a time to go 8-and-2 and make a push, if there is still a push in it for this Blue Jays club.
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AND ANOTHER THING
The longer it is between the time Vince Carter played for the Raptors and whatever day this happens to be the more the mythology of his time in Toronto changes. It’s as though some of the past has been erased. Carter has been deservedly elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame and will inducted this summer. Toronto basketball voices seem consumed with the notion of the Raptors honouring and possibly retiring his number. The same people, however, don’t seem to mention Chris Bosh, who played 106 more games for the Raptors than Carter did, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021. Bosh’s jersey shouldn’t be retired. He never won a playoff series as a Raptor. Carter’s jersey shouldn’t be retired either: He never won a best-of-seven series as a Raptor either. What would you be honouring him for? Winning a slam-dunk competition? … It’s pretty clear now that TNT is losing its NBA television rights. What isn’t clear is what happens to the brilliant Inside the NBA show and halftime shows with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith. They’re better than most games … Kind of a sad ending to a great first Toronto season in the PWHL. I watched all five periods of the double overtime loss in Minnesota. The game sounded more spectacular than it actually was … This represents good news for Canada: Jaylen Brunson is not on the U.S. Olympic basketball team and should be. Indiana’s Tyrese Halliburton was chosen ahead of the Knicks scoring star. Brunson is averaging 27 points a game in the playoffs … I’d like to be Scottie Scheffler’s lawyer if the World No. 1 golfer had a bent finger, a hand issue, an elbow problem anything that bothered his golf game after his altercation with police in Louisville on Friday? How big of a cheque would they be writing? … I hope, strictly for entertainment purposes, that Connor McDavid is still alive and well in the Stanley Cup playoffs by the time you wake up Sunday morning … Happy birthday to Reggie Jackson (78), Jari Kurri (64), Archie Manning (75), Kevin Garnett (48), Marty McSorley (61), Connor Hellebuyck (31), Donyell Marshall (51), Bill Laimbeer (67), Rick Cerone (70), Michael Che (41) and Manny Malhotra (44) … And hey, whatever became of Brian Rafalski?
ssimmons@postmedia.com
x.com/simmonssteve
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