Pete DeBoer on why he told Craig Berube he isn’t coming for his job as Leafs coach

According to Pete DeBoer, he won’t be behind the bench in Toronto anytime soon.

The former Dallas Stars head coach was in the news last week after Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman reported DeBoer sent a note through a friend to Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, telling him to ignore any rumors of him being interested in the Leafs job.

Speculation over Berube’s future in Toronto has ramped up in recent weeks due to the team’s on-ice struggles, which resulted in the firing of assistant coach Marc Savard.

On Tuesday, DeBoer appeared on The Leafs Nation to chat with Nick Alberga and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta to discuss why it was important for him to reach Leafs’ bench boss.

“I was talking with a close friend of (Berube), and I just felt that I wanted to relay that message to him: ‘Don’t listen to the noise, keep doing what you’re doing, there’s no truth to what’s being said,'” he told Alberga and Pagnotta.

DeBoer says the main reason he wanted to reach out to Berube was that he knows what it’s like to be on the other side of coaching change rumors.

“When you’re in that spot, and I’ve been in that spot, you’re having sleepless nights as it is,” he said. “(That’s) without the extra burden of unsubstantiated reports about this guy coming in, and this guy talking to someone, and it’s already a done deal, and they’re negotiating a contract. That job is tough enough without that added element to it.”

“If I could at least get him an extra half hour of sleep without worrying about Pete DeBoer, I was happy to do that,” he added.

In three seasons with the Stars, the 57-year-old DeBoer recorded a 149-68-29 record in 246 regular-season games. He led the team to three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances, posting a 29-27 record in 56 playoff games.

DeBoer also became first coach or manager in North American professional sports history to earn nine Game 7 victories, doing so after the Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in Game 7 of their first-round matchup. His record in Game 7 contests is 9-0.

Before 2025-26, DeBoer had coached a team in every NHL season since the 2008-09 campaign. During that time, he’s compiled a record of 662-447-152 in 1,261 career games with the Stars, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…