After Monday’s practice, Craig Berube discussed the status of his injured players, the defensive inconsistencies, the team’s current frustration level, and the big road trip ahead.
Practice Notes – Nov. 24
Craig Berube offered the following updates on the Maple Leafs injuries:
Jake McCabe: Fine to play against Columbus
Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nic Roy: “Close” to returning
Anthony Stolarz: “A ways away” and still not skating
Brandon Carlo: Still not skating
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) November 24, 2025
Ultimately, why did you decide to give the optional to the high-minute players?
Berube: Well, there have been a lot of guys playing a lot of minutes lately with the injuries and all of that. It’s a little extra physical and mental rest for some guys, and for other guys, it is more of a reset day to work on some things we wanted them to work on with the development staff.
What sort of tone do you set with the group when the team is going through a tough time like this?
Berube: My tone goes up and down. Everybody is frustrated, but my job as a coach is to set them in the right direction and lead them. That is what I do. Sometimes, my tone is not fun, but that is part of it all. You’ve got to keep teaching, keep working, and keep finding the little adjustments we can make to help our team.
What is a losing streak like for a coach at times like this? Do you find yourself getting less sleep?
Berube: Probably the same as a player. We all feel it and want to be better. At the same time, as I said, my job is to help these guys, teach them, and work with them. Everyone has to grind right now. It is a grind.
Do I sleep any differently? No. I wake up and look forward to coming to the rink and trying to get better, like everyone else.
What is at the top of the priority list for improvements ahead of Wednesday?
Berube: Defense. It is something we have been banging away at for a bit here, and we have to keep banging away at it. We are third in the league in scoring goals, and we have a lot of injured guys out — guys who put the puck in the net — but at the same time, we prided ourselves on defense last year and checking. We have to get back to that. That is what we are focused on.
Why hasn’t the team been able to get back to that identity defensively, do you think?
Berube: I don’t think our forecheck has been as good, for one. I don’t think we stall enough pucks in the offensive zone. We do create offensive zone time, and it has been getting better, but those stalls are important to neutralize the breakouts for the other team and their transition game.
Two, the odd-man rushes have hurt us at times this year with our reads on some of them and getting beaten up the ice on some of them. In the defensive zone, for the most part, it has not been terrible, but it is just not tight enough. I bring up the details of the sticks and protecting the middle of the ice.
Have you considered tactical changes to the systems at all?
Berube: We made some adjustments already, and I think they have been really good. I don’t think a drastic change to the whole system… I am not really thinking about that at all.
The team finished at the top of the division last season. It sits last in the Conference now. How weird or surprising a swing is it for it to happen so quickly?
Berube: It has happened before, I am sure. I don’t know when, but I am sure it has. It is the way it goes sometimes. I am not going to sit here and explain every little thing that has gone on this year. That is not going to help. We just have to build. We have to build and focus on Wednesday’s game and the two points. That is it. We’ll move on from that game and work on the next one.
Do you think back to 2018-19 and the team being in dire straits partway through the year in St. Louis?
Berube: I mean… It is the same approach, almost, right now. Same approach.
In your mind, how critical is this road trip?
Berube: It is critical, for sure, but I am only focused on the game on Wednesday. I am not going to look beyond that. It is a big game. We have to go out and get the two points that day, and then we will move on to the next day.
But it is a big road trip. It is good for our guys to get on the road together. We have to rally around each other.
Do you think it has hurt the team at all that there hasn’t been a long road trip until now?
Berube: At times. It seems like it’s been a while since we have been on the road together as a group for a number of days, for sure.
