Jump to content

Craig Berube

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.

Craig Berube
Craig Berube 2011-12-29.JPG
Berube with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011
Born (1965-12-17) December 17, 1965 (age 58)
Calahoo, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Philadelphia Flyers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Calgary Flames
Washington Capitals
New York Islanders
Current NHL coach Toronto Maple Leafs
Coached for Philadelphia Flyers
St. Louis Blues
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 1986–2004
Coaching career 2004–present

Craig Berube (/bəˈruːbiː/; born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Chief", Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. His role was primarily that of an enforcer. After retirement, Berube served as head coach of the Flyers for two seasons, and the St. Louis Blues for parts of six seasons, winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 as then-interim head coach. Berube additionally served as a national team scout for Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, under Blues general manager Doug Armstrong.

Playing career

Berube played 1,054 NHL regular season games between 1986 and 2003. He was known as an enforcer in the NHL and amassed 3,149 penalty minutes in his career, good for seventh on the all-time list. Berube has the lowest point total (159) of any player with 1000 games played.

Berube was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers on March 19, 1986. He made his NHL debut on March 22, 1987, recording 16 penalty minutes which included two fighting majors, in a 3–1 Flyers win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[1] He remained with the Flyers through the end of the regular season and also played in five playoff games during the Flyers' run to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals. Berube cemented his place in the Flyers' line-up during the 1988–89 season and finished in the top ten in penalty minutes during the next two seasons.

Following the 1990–91 season, Berube was traded three times in a span of a little over seven months, twice in the off-season. The Flyers traded him to the Edmonton Oilers along with Craig Fisher and Scott Mellanby for Dave Brown, Corey Foster, and Jari Kurri on May 30. Four months later he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, and Scott Thornton on September 19. Berube played the first half of the 1991–92 season with Toronto before he was traded again on January 2, 1992 to the Calgary Flames along with Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, and Jeff Reese for Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress, and Rick Wamsley.

Berube remained with the Flames through the end of the 1992–93 season. He was traded on June 26, 1993, to the Washington Capitals for a fifth-round draft choice in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the next six seasons with the Capitals, notably playing in every playoff game during Washington's run to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.

During a November 1997 game against the Florida Panthers, Berube called Panthers' forward Peter Worrell, who is black, "a monkey."[2] Berube claimed the remark was not racially motivated and he apologized to Worrell a day after the game.[2] The NHL suspended Berube for one game.[2]

Berube returned to the Flyers in 1999 during the trade deadline.[3] He saw his last Stanley Cup playoff action on the ice in 2000. In game four of the Eastern Conference Finals, he scored the game-winning goal to put the Flyers up 3–1 in the series against the New Jersey Devils, but the Flyers lost the next three games and the series.

Berube split the next three seasons between the Capitals, New York Islanders, and the Flames. He ended his playing career as a player-assistant coach with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate, during the 2003–04 season.[4]

Coaching career

Philadelphia Flyers

Berube was named the head coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' affiliate in the American Hockey League, before the 2006–07 AHL season.[4] However, on October 23, 2006, Berube was promoted to the Flyers' NHL coaching staff after a major reorganization in the franchise. On October 22, 2006, Bob Clarke resigned from his position as general manager of the Flyers, and head coach Ken Hitchcock was released from his duties. John Stevens, formerly assistant coach, was named the Flyers' new head coach, and Berube was designated to replace him. For the 2007–08 season, Berube returned to the Phantoms as head coach. On October 7, 2013, Berube was named head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers following an 0–3–0 start.[5] The team improved their play following the change to Berube and clinched a spot in the 2014 NHL playoffs. On April 17, 2015, Berube was relieved of his coaching duties by Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.[6]

St. Louis Blues

On June 29, 2016, Berube was named the head coach of the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the St. Louis Blues.[7]

On June 15, 2017, Berube was named an assistant head coach for the Blues.[8] On November 19, 2018, the Blues fired head coach Mike Yeo and named Berube interim coach for the rest of the season.[9][10][11]

Berube during the 2019 Stanley Cup parade

The Blues struggled at first under Berube's watch; at the start of the 2019 calendar year, they were 15–18–4 and last in the league standings. However, they improved through the remainder of the season, going 30–10–5, including a franchise-record 11-game winning streak. As the third seed in the Central Division, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the fourth time in franchise history, and the first time since 1970. The Blues later won the series 4–3 over the Boston Bruins, capping off Game 7 with a 4–1 win, earning the Blues their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history and Berube his first Stanley Cup championship as a player or coach.

Berube became the second interim head coach in NHL history to guide his team to a Stanley Cup title. Berube shares this distinction with Larry Robinson, who accomplished the feat 19 years earlier with the New Jersey Devils.

On April 26, 2019, Berube, Jon Cooper, and Barry Trotz were announced as the finalists for the Jack Adams Award.[12] On June 24, the Blues dropped the "interim" tag from Berube's title and officially named him as the 26th head coach in franchise history, with a three-year contract.[13]

On February 9, 2022, the Blues signed Berube to a three-year contract extension, through the 2024–25 season.[14]

On December 12, 2023, following a four-game losing streak capped by a 6–4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Berube was fired by the Blues.[15]

Toronto Maple Leafs

Following the 2023–24 season, Berube was hired as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 17, 2024, replacing Sheldon Keefe.[16]

Personal life

Berube is partially of First Nations descent. During his time coaching the Flyers, he and Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan were the only head coaches in the NHL with First Nations ancestry. On November 21, 2013, Berube (part Cree) and Nolan (Ojibwe) became the first head coaches of First Nations descent in NHL history to coach for opposing teams in the same game.[17]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Williams Lake Mustangs PCJHL 33 9 24 33 99 — — — — —
1982–83 Kamloops Jr. Oilers WHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1983–84 New Westminster Bruins WHL 70 11 20 31 104 8 1 2 3 5
1984–85 New Westminster Bruins WHL 70 25 44 69 191 10 3 2 5 4
1985–86 Kamloops Blazers WHL 32 17 14 31 119 — — — — —
1985–86 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 34 14 16 30 95 25 7 8 15 102
1986–87 Hershey Bears AHL 63 7 17 24 325 — — — — —
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 7 0 0 0 57 5 0 0 0 17
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 27 3 2 5 108 — — — — —
1987–88 Hershey Bears AHL 31 5 9 14 119 — — — — —
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 53 1 1 2 199 16 0 0 0 56
1988–89 Hershey Bears AHL 7 0 2 2 19 — — — — —
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 4 14 18 291 — — — — —
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 8 9 17 293 — — — — —
1991–92 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 5 7 12 109 — — — — —
1991–92 Calgary Flames NHL 36 1 4 5 155 — — — — —
1992–93 Calgary Flames NHL 77 4 8 12 209 6 0 1 1 21
1993–94 Washington Capitals NHL 84 7 7 14 305 8 0 0 0 21
1994–95 Washington Capitals NHL 43 2 4 6 173 7 0 0 0 29
1995–96 Washington Capitals NHL 50 2 10 12 151 2 0 0 0 19
1996–97 Washington Capitals NHL 80 4 3 7 218 — — — — —
1997–98 Washington Capitals NHL 74 6 9 15 189 21 1 0 1 21
1998–99 Washington Capitals NHL 66 5 4 9 166 — — — — —
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 11 0 0 0 28 6 1 0 1 4
1999–00 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 4 8 12 162 18 1 0 1 23
2000–01 Washington Capitals NHL 22 0 1 1 18 — — — — —
2000–01 New York Islanders NHL 38 0 2 2 54 — — — — —
2001–02 Calgary Flames NHL 66 3 1 4 164 — — — — —
2002–03 Calgary Flames NHL 55 2 4 6 100 — — — — —
2003–04 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 33 0 6 6 134 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,054 61 98 159 3,149 89 3 1 4 211

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
PHI 2013–14 79 42 27 10 (94) 3rd in Metropolitan 3 4 .429 Lost in first round (NYR)
PHI 2014–15 82 33 31 18 84 6th in Metropolitan — — — Missed playoffs
PHI total 161 75 58 28     3 4 .429 1 playoff appearance
STL 2018–19 63 38 19 6 (82) 3rd in Central 16 10 .615 Won Stanley Cup (BOS)
STL 2019–20 71[a] 42 19 10 94 1st in Central 2 4 .333 Lost in first round (VAN)
STL 2020–21 56 27 20 9 63 4th in West 0 4 .000 Lost in first round (COL)
STL 2021–22 82 49 22 11 109 3rd in Central 6 6 .500 Lost in second round (COL)
STL 2022–23 82 37 38 7 81 6th in Central — — — Missed playoffs
STL 2023–24 28 13 14 1 27 (fired) — — — —
STL total 382 206 132 44     24 24 .500 4 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup title
Total 543 281 190 72     27 28 .491 5 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup title

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Season shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2019–20 season. Playoffs were played in August 2020 with a different format.

References

  1. ^ "Flyers History - Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". P. Anson. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  2. ^ a b c Michael Russo (November 26, 1997). "NHL Suspends Berube For Slur". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "Flyers Acquire Berube From Caps". NHL.com. March 23, 1999. Archived from the original on November 18, 1999. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Craig Berube named head coach of Phantoms". OurSports Central. June 14, 2006. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "CRAIG BERUBE NAMED FLYERS HEAD COACH". Philadelphia Flyers. October 7, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  6. ^ "Craig Berube relieved of duties as Flyers head coach". Philadelphia Flyers. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  7. ^ "Craig Berube Hired as Chicago Wolves Head Coach". OurSports Central. June 29, 2016.
  8. ^ Rutherford, Jeremy P. "Berube named Blues' associate coach; new goalie coach 'perfect match' for Allen". stltoday.com. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  9. ^ "Yeo relieved of duties, Berube named interim head coach". NHL.com. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Yeo replaced by Berube as St. Louis Blues head coach". stltoday.com. St.Louis Post Dispatch. November 19, 2018. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  11. ^ "Yeo relieved of duties, Berube named interim head coach". NHL.com. November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  12. ^ "Berube named finalist for Jack Adams Award". NHL.com. April 26, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  13. ^ "Blues sign Berube to 3-year contract". NHL.com. June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  14. ^ Pinkert, Chris (February 9, 2022). "Berube signs 3-year contract extension". NHL.com. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "Blues relieve Berube of coaching duties". St. Louis Blues. National Hockey League. December 12, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  16. ^ "Berube hired as Maple Leafs coach, replaces Keefe". NHL.com. May 17, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  17. ^ Gretz, Adam. "Berube vs. Nolan is an NHL first". SBNation.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Craig Berube.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the St. Louis Blues
2018–2023 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs
2024–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Craig_Berube&oldid=1257920309"