NHL Teams Consider Coaching and Management Changes for Playoff Contention
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The Maple Leafs intend to retool their roster to regain their place as a playoff contender next season. Chayka could decide to replace Berube with another experienced NHL coach with a proven record of success, who could thrive under the pressure of coaching in the NHL's biggest market.
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CBS SportsUnder Keefe, the Leafs were typically a very strong five-on-five team. They don't hand out banners for that, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a Cup champion that doesn't control play at full strength. After Berube was hired, those underlying numbers slipped considerably in his first season before collapsing entirely in 2025-26.
Yahoo SportsAfter a promising first season with the team, Berube and the Leafs saw a significant drop-off in Year 2. The team finished eighth in the Atlantic Division and missed out on the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Despite Berube still having multiple years left on his contract, that was enough to get him fired.
NDTV SportsToronto Maple Leafs Fire Head Coach Craig Berube in Major Organisational Overhaul Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka.
ESPNLeafs fire head coach Berube after 2 seasons The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Craig Berube, the team announced Wednesday.
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Jay Woodcroft could be a noteworthy possibility. The former head coach of the Edmonton Oilers guided them to three straight second-place finishes in the Pacific Division, including second overall in the Western Conference in 2023. They also reached the Conference Final in 2022 and the Stanley Cup Final in 2024.
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If Foote is replaced, the new Canucks GM could look within the club's system and promote Manny Malhotra into the role. A 16-year NHL player, including three seasons with the Canucks, Malhotra went on to become an assistant coach with the Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2017-18 to 2023-24.
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Woodcroft has proved he can get the most out of his players, especially his offensive stars. His efforts could help to bolster a Devils offense that ranked 27th this season. His ability to work well with promising young players could also bring out the best in Devils like Luke Hughes and Šimon Nemec.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 Bleacher Report The coaching search is officially on in Toronto, and so is the pressure to finally land the right long-term bench boss.
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02 Yahoo Sports The 2026 PWHL Draft eligibility list is out. Most of the 235 names to declare were known and expected. Highlighted by players like Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, and Abbey Murphy from the NCAA, and Petra Nieminen, Viivi Vainikka, and Andrea Brandli from Europe, the stars everyone knew were set to declare for the PWHL Draft, did.
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03 CBS Sports Injuries played a role in that, forcing Matthews to miss 37 games combined over the last two season, but he still scored just 60 goals in 127 games. That's quite a feat for most players, but it was a clear dip in Matthews' career pace, which still sits at 0.62 goals per game.
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Sources (5)
- yahoosports
- cbssports
- bleacherreport
- ndtv-sports
- espn