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Craig Berube expects to be back with the Maple Leafs next year.

Following an extremely disappointing season, Craig Berube said that he expects to be back as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in nine seasons this year. That led to former General Manager Brad Treliving losing his job, and has led to speculation that Berube may be out as the team’s head coach, too. However, Berube thinks he will be back with the team next year.

Speaking to reporters at the year-end media scrum after the Leafs’ season officially ended, Berube said he expects to be the team’s head coach next season.

“Yes,” Berube said bluntly when asked by reporters if he expects to be behind the Leafs’ bench in 2026-2027.

Craig Berube Believes the Leafs Can Bounce Back Next Year

Despite having such a bad season, Berube thinks the Leafs can turn things around next year and get back into the playoff hunt.

“I do (think the Leafs can bounce back). We have some good players here. We have to make some adjustments, we have to make some moves to bring in maybe some different players or different people. But there’s a good core here and good players and good people, so I do believe we can bounce back,” Berube said.

To be fair to the Leafs, the team dealt with numerous injuries this year, including a season-ending knee injury to superstar captain Auston Matthews after a cheap shot from Radko Gudas of the Anaheim Ducks, plus goalie Anthony Stolarz suffered multiple injuries. As bad as the team was this year, there is optimism that with improved health, plus some new players coming in, the team can return to the playoff field next year.

The Maple Leafs are Looking for a New General Manager

The Leafs fired Treliving in late March after an absolutely disastrous season where the team went from winning the Atlantic Division last year to finishing in the basement of the division this season. Considering the Leafs entered the year as a Stanley Cup favorite, it was nothing but a major disappointment seeing how the team performed this year. Along with the team’s poor record and play, Treliving also came under fire for terrible trades that saw the team give up valuable draft capital for Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, both of whom did not live up to expectations for the Leafs. Though Treliving saved face at the trade deadline by picking up some much-needed draft picks for several of his veteran players, it was not enough for him to save his job.

The Leafs are now looking for a new General Manager to lead the team, and potentially, a President of Hockey Operations above that person. There has been speculation that the Leafs are interested in former Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis to become the team’s new President, while the team has also been linked to potentially hiring Florida Panthers assistant GM Sunny Mehta as the team’s new general manager. However, the Leafs are in no rush to make a hire, as they are trying to interview as many potential candidates for the role before making a decision.