Craig Berube is downplaying any potential friction he had with one of his star players.
Speaking on Leafs Morning Take on Wednesday, the former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach said any tension he had with winger William Nylander was all part of the business.
“I enjoyed working with Willy. I mean, listen, you have to have tough conversations with him. There are always things that come up and you’ve got to battle with him about things because he’s a special player, he’s a special talent,” Berube said. “He wants to do things a certain way and I want things done a certain way, so there’s always a little bit of backlash from him either way.
“Overall, our relationship was good. I know there was a lot made of this and that, me and him going at it, but that’s part of hockey. And we were OK with it, both of us. We moved on from it the next day.”
In two seasons with Berube, Nylander accumulated 75 goals and 163 points across 147 games, including a career-high 45 goals in 2024-25.
“I don’t have any hard feelings with Willy,” Berube continued. “I enjoyed coaching him. These guys that are special players, it takes work and you’ve got to try to change them a little bit — you can’t totally change them. He’s been playing this way for 10 years, so it’s not like he’s going to change his whole game. He’s been pretty successful at what he’s done. Overall, I enjoyed it.”
The veteran coach was let go as the Maple Leafs transitioned to the John Chayka and Mats Sundin era. He led Toronto to their second playoff series win in three years during his first season behind the bench, but followed it off with the first post-season miss in nine years.
Despite the departure, Berube looks back fondly on the opportunity to work with the high-end talent peppering the Maple Leafs’ lineup.
“Overall, I would come out of there saying it was great. I mean, I didn’t have a problem managing those guys or working with those guys. … They came to work every day, they worked in the gym, they worked in practice,” Berube added.
“There wasn’t a ton of difficult in (managing the players). Maybe there should have been more, maybe I wish there was more backlash from them, or something from them to try to get things going in the right direction. Overall, they were an enjoyment to work with.”
On his future, Berube said he’d like to get back behind an NHL bench.
“I’ll see what comes up, hopefully I’ll get a call at some point, get back into the game and into coaching,” Berube, who interviewed with the Oilers but ultimately withdrew his name from consideration, said. “I’ve got a lot left, and I’m ready to get back in it.”