Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving still believes in coach Craig Berube after latest woes

The timing of Marc Savard’s firing does not start a countdown for Craig Berube’s coaching tenure in Toronto.

General manager Brad Treliving stood up for his coach a second time before the halfway mark of the season after the latest losing streak dropped the Maple Leafs into the Eastern Conference basement again.

Assistant coach Savard, who was unable to halt one of the best power plays in the NHL from a deep dive to 32nd, was let go Monday and the GM spoke about the bigger picture prior to the game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday afternoon.

“I want to make it clear: I support Craig fully,” Treliving said when we asked about Berube’s extra personnel input granted him last spring by MLSE president Keith Pelley. “I know when you go through tough stretches, whether you are the coach or the manager, that’s part of the business, right?

“A month ago, I did a press conference and one of the narratives coming out of there was a disconnect between the coach (and players). There is no disconnect. We all have to better, we all recognize that, but I think we have a really good coach, we have to work together with the players and find our way out of this.

“It’s not lost on us where we are, we live it every day. But I think we have a very good coach.”

Asked how long he’d wait for this funk to cure itself before he might lose patience with Berube, Treliving said he “wasn’t going to get into hypotheticals.”

Berube’s chance for a voice in policy came after Pelley cashed out Brendan Shanahan as president. Treliving, who hired Berube in the summer of 2024. had said major decisions such as what was ailing the power play and ultimately, the firing of Savard, were collective approaches.

“We don’t operate in silos,” Treliving said. “We all want to decipher ‘who made the decision (on Savard).’ Ultimately, it’s mine, but those are not done in a vacuum. Chief and I speak constantly every day and you speak to your staff.”

Treliving’s other strong contention after Tuesday’s Q and A was that this season is not lost. Still six games from the halfway stage of the schedule before Tuesday, the Leafs were in last, but only six points out of third place in their division.

That’s in a season where the standings have rarely been so close this late and where other teams have elected to ride out bad streaks and are now back in playoff spots.

That faith includes holding off on trades, with Treliving dismissing any rumours that captain Auston Matthews might be open to a change or that the Leafs would become early sellers at the deadline. Trades carry their own set of problems for the Leafs with their stars, who are well protected with no-move clauses and hard-to-deal contracts, and draft capital already lost in other deals.

“I don’t think we’re turning the page right now on the season,” Treliving said. “We’re not waving a white flag. We’re continuing to monitor (league activity). I don’t say all the answers are internal. You always look at change. If you can find some way to bring in a new player and help your team, that’s what you have to do.

“But when you’ve got people who are underperforming, the best way to turn it around is to getting people to play to the level they can.”

Berube followed Treliving to the podium, showing the strain of the past week with a few brief comments on relieving Savard, taking his share of blame for the power play’s failures.

Regarding his influence on personnel matters, he underlined that he and Treliving “communicate on everything and make decisions we both think are best for the team.”

Treliving wished everyone happy holidays, but it will be a working vacation for the brass.

lhornby@postmedia.com

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