Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach
Craig Berube, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach

Ahead of Wednesday’s game in New Jersey, head coach Craig Berube discussed the news of Chris Tanev undergoing season-ending surgery, Easton Cowan’s minutes, healthy-scratching Troy Stecher, and the challenge of coaching a team through a lost season. 

Can you address the news about Chris Tanev, who is shutting it down for the season after undergoing core muscle surgery?

Berube: Yeah, he wanted to try to come back and play this year, but it didn’t work out. He got the operation, and it went successfully. He’ll be ready for camp next year.

What does Easton Cowan need to show in his minutes to earn more of them?

Berube: Well, his minutes were up early on in the year. He was playing on different lines and doing different things on different nights. I sat him out; I thought he hit a wall, so he sat out a few games. We won those three games. I went with the same lineup coming out of the break, and he is back in now. Now, I know he didn’t get a lot of minutes in the last game, but we will get his minutes up.

When he took the stick penalty 200 feet from his own net, is that something you address with the player?

Berube: That penalty — yeah, you have to manage your stick, especially in the offensive zone like that. He doesn’t need to get overly aggressive there. It is not a good penalty to take. But it is all of those things that you talk to him about. It is just the simple things in the game.

We all know what he can do. He has great vision and an engine on him. He works extremely hard. There are a lot of good things, but it is the wall battles and so on that we’ve been working on with him and discussing with him.

I think he is getting better. He is a good learner. He wants to learn, and he has a great attitude. He has grown a lot this year as a player and will only continue to grow.

What is the biggest challenge for a coach during a season like this, where it is not going as planned?

Berube: Motivate them to keep going. You never know. Our goal is to get a win tonight, obviously, just like it was last game. You have to keep fighting and grinding. You have to have pride every night and every shift. Go out there, work your ass off, and play the right way.

What is your sense of the group and how they’re managing the trade deadline distraction? 

Berube: I don’t really sit around and talk to every guy about what they’re thinking, but they are obviously thinking about it. It is natural. It is not any different than the day against the Flyers. The deadline is around the corner, and there is a lot of talk. As I said, you have to block it out and play.

How is Oliver Ekman-Larsson handling it, especially knowing he has a baby on the way?

Berube: O has been great. He has been in the game for a long time. He has been through this before and has been fine.

Will the team sit some players for roster-management reasons over the next few days?

Berube: Not tonight, but it could happen, obviously. But it is not going to happen tonight.

Why is Troy Stecher sitting on the outside as a healthy scratch at the moment?

Berube: His game dropped off a little bit. Philippe Myers has been out for a long time. He came in, played a game, and I liked the way he played in the last game. I’m going to play him again tonight.

[Stecher] owns it. He knows his play dropped a bit. He gave us a lot of good hockey and has been really good for us, but sometimes, you have to take a break and get a different guy in there.

There is a good chance he will play tomorrow.

What have you appreciated about Nic Roy’s game this season?

Berube: I know what I am getting each day. I know his production is not where he wants it to be — and we’d like it to be a little higher, too — but it is not because he is not doing things right or not doing a lot of good things for us. He has had some really good opportunities to score more, and it hasn’t gone in.

Overall, we’re pretty happy with his game. You’d like a little more production, but overall, he has done a good job of killing penalties and being used in different situations throughout the year.

This is a different situation than the team has been in during the Auston Matthews era. As the captain, what is the key for him to lead the team through it?

Berube: Yeah, grind through it. He has to go out and lead by example on the ice and with his work ethic. We are counting on him to score goals, amongst other things. That is what leaders do: keep everybody in check in the room, and make sure we are competing every shift and playing for the team. As a captain, that’s what he needs to handle.

Morning Skate Lines – March 4

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