Ex-NHL enforcer gets brutally honest about Maple Leafs potentially firing Craig Berube due to recent struggles

Former NHL enforcer Jay Rosehill has come out swinging in defense of head coach Craig Berube as pressure mounts on the Toronto Maple Leafs during a frustrating 2025-26 season.

Speaking this week amid growing speculation about Berube’s job security, Rosehill called the idea of the Maple Leafs firing their head coach a “f***ing disgrace” pushing back hard against the notion that coaching is the root of Toronto’s problems.

Rosehill, who played for a variety of coaches during his NHL career, framed his argument through direct comparison.

“I’ve played for coaches where the whole team hates the guy,” Rosehill said. “He’s negative. He belittles guys. He’s sarcastic. He throws jabs. He’s the worst coach, everything’s negative and guys will still give effort to a degree.”

Berube, Rosehill insisted, is the complete opposite.

“I’ve played for Craig Berube. He’s none of those things,” Rosehill said. “He’s straightforward. He’s honest. He’s not crazy negative. He’s not flipping tables and screaming in guys’ faces.”

The former NHLer hinted that a decisive moment could be imminent for the organization regarding Betube and that possibility is exactly what Rosehill finds unacceptable.

“I think these next 24 hours are going to be.. something’s got to happen here,” he said. “And it’s probably going to be Craig Berube fired. And I think it’s a f***ing disgrace.”

Through the mid-point of the 2025-26 campaign, the Maple Leafs sit around the playoff bubble in the Eastern Conference hovering near a .500 record.

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Jay Rosehill provides closer insight at Craig Berube’s coaching style

Rosehill mentioned that Berube’s approach is direct and transparent. He characterized Berube as a coach who avoids theatrics and focuses on simple repeatable principles.

According to Rosehill, Berube’s message centers on showing up prepared, doing the right things consistently, working hard and simplifying the game.

He added that Berube stresses structure away from the puck playing a north-south game and earning offensive-zone time through effort. Once that foundation is in place, Rosehill said, Berube trusts skilled players to create and make plays without micromanagement.

“He just says we’ve got to show up, do the right things, work hard, and simplify our game,” Rosehill explained. “It’s not a big circus out there. We stay north-south, win our battles and when we get into the offensive zone, you guys are skilled enough, you can do whatever the f*** you want in there.”

The former NHLer suggested that the issue lies more with execution and buy-in, pointing to a familiar pattern in Toronto where coaches absorb blame when results don't show.

Jay Rosehill played under Craig Berube during the 2013-14 season within the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Berube took over as Flyers head coach in October 2013. While Rosehill was not a full-time NHL regular at that point and spent time in the AHL, he was part of the Flyers’ organizational group during Berube’s tenure and had direct exposure to his coaching style.

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Edited by Anjum Rajonno