Ex-NHLer goes off on Maple Leafs players, defends Craig Berube amid 'ridiculous' fan backlash

After two bad losses to the Boston Bruins and the Carolina Hurricanes, some Toronto Maple Leafs fans have started blaming coach Craig Berube and his staff. These losses have dropped the Leafs' record to 8-7-1, and it shows how inconsistent the team has been this season.

Former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill called the blame on Berube and his staff ridiculous. Speaking on The Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga, Rosehill said the players - not the coaches - deserve the blame.

"You know the blame game and the finger-pointing is ridiculous," Rosehill said. "This is 100% what you said. This is basic hockey stuff, like commitment to details that these guys all know. "For whatever reason, no one's taking the lead on it, and no one's following suit. And there's just no cohesiveness within that room to do those things over and over again... and they're the things that prove the difference in games."

Rosehill added that Berube and his assistants have done everything possible to prepare the team. But the Maple Leafs players are making the same mistakes repeatedly, ignoring what the coaches teach.

"These coaches are probably in the coaching room, going, 'What the hell are these guys thinking? We have told them over and over and over again to pay attention to these details, and they just f***ing don't,'" Rosehill said.

Rosehill said the team lacks leadership and focus in key defensive areas. He also mentioned that the coaches have held meetings and video sessions to fix these issues.

"So it's not on Craig Berube, it's not rattling off all these f***ing secondary and tertiary coaches." Rosehill said. "They're the problem. "It is 100% that team, and someone needs to, I don't know, take the reins, lead the way, blaze the trail,... get them to start thinking about the details on the defensive side of the puck, because that's not going to get you anywhere."

Rosehill said someone in the locker room must step up and hold others accountable. They should stop giving up odd-man rushes, and right now, the team’s effort level is not good enough.

Craig Berube's take on Maple Leafs' loss to Hurricanes

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost 5-4 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. William Nylander scored first for Toronto. Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis replied for Carolina to make it 2-1. John Tavares tied the game, then Nylander and Auston Matthews gave Toronto a 4-2 lead.

However, Sean Walker, Taylor Hall, and Logan Stankoven scored three straight for the Hurricanes. Coach Craig Berube said turnovers and poor effort were costly.

"Turnover after turnover cost us the game tonight," Berube said, via NHL. "We didn’t check anybody tonight, we didn’t win any battles tonight. That’s two games in a row.”

Carolina outshot Toronto 22-2 in the third period. Maple Leafs goalie Dennis Hildeby made 42 saves out of 47 in the loss.

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Edited by Ankit Kumar