‘I have all the faith in the world in him:’ Leafs’ Treliving shares full confidence in Berube
As the Toronto Maple Leafs are mired in a five-game losing streak, general manager Brad Treliving used his annual quarter-season media availability to address the team’s struggles and throw his support behind head coach Craig Berube.
The Maple Leafs are 8-9-2 on the young season, and after the Buffalo Sabres routed Edmonton on Monday night, the two clubs on opposite sides of Lake Ontario now share last place in the Eastern Conference with 18 points each.
As injuries pile up for Toronto and the team looks to swing momentum back in their favor, Treliving made it clear that if it happens, it will take place with Berube still behind the bench.
“I fully believe in Craig and the messaging,” he told the assembled reporters.
“Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight,” he continued. “When you go through difficult times the easy thing is to pick off the coach… the important thing is to not point fingers and dig in together… I have all the faith in the world in him.”
Treliving on Craig Berube:
“Craig didn’t become a bad coach overnight, when you go through difficult times the easy thing is to pick off the coach… the important thing is to not point fingers and dig in together… I have all the faith in the world in him”
The Maple Leafs have lost the solid defensive performance and high-level goaltending that powered them to Game 7 of the second round last year. They’ve given up 72 goals, more than anyone in the East, but strong offense has helped stop the bottom from falling out completely.
Led by William Nylander’s scorching-hot start in which he’s racked up 26 points in 16 games, Toronto has scored 67 times, more than every team in the East save for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Starting goalie Anthony Stolarz has seen his save percentage slip from .926 a year ago all the way down to .884 in his 13 starts to this point, and he’s now on injured reserve.
Last year, the Maple Leafs allowed 2.53 expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick, good for 20th in the NHL. So far this year, they’re 19th in the league with a slight tick up to 2.58.
“I think there’s been too much vanilla with this team,” Treliving said. “The expectations aren’t changing. Our expectation is getting our players to play at a high level.”
Tuesday night marks a tremendous opportunity to get things turned around as the St. Louis Blues pay a visit to Scotiabank Arena. Berube led the Blues to the 2019 Stanley Cup after a dreadful start, a history that both plays a role in Treliving’s faith in his coach and makes this game a crucial one for Berube and the team as a whole.
St. Louis brings a 6-9-4 record to Toronto, and is one of just a few teams in the league that has conceded more goals against than the Leafs have with 75.