Maple Leafs News: Head Coach Craig Berube Makes Definitive Statement on Mitch Marner

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

When asked if he'd like to see the Leafs re-sign Mitch Marner and John Tavares, Craig Berube said, "100%"

 While all of Leafs Nation debates the futures of Mitch Marner and John Tavares, with most seemingly ready to throw them under the bus and be rid of them, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, at a team press conference Tuesday morning, has made a definitive statement on what he wants to see happen with the pair:

When asked if he'd like to see the team re-sign pending UFAs Marner and Tavares, he almost laughed as he said with certainty, "100%."

Berube went even further when he was asked earlier how he felt about coaching Marner:

"I love the guy. Love coaching him, love his energy, personality. He's a hell of a player. He does a lot for this team, night in, night out, in a lot of different areas of the game. I got nothing but good things to say about him."

Marner is expected to test free agency as of July 1, and most observers feel that his time in Toronto—his hometown—has come to an end. There are a number of teams, starting with the Chicago Blackhawks, Utah Mammoth, and others, who are ready to throw bags of cash at the 100-point man. He's expected to command somewhere in the $13M - $14M range annually on a long-term deal.

Calls are coming from every corner in Leaf Land to break up the 'Core Four' of Marner, Tavares, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, as this iteration of the team has continually failed to live up to expectations in the playoffs in the Matthews era. 

It doesn't sound like the head coach agrees.  

"I really liked this team. I think this team is a very good team. To get over that hump we have to learn from this Game 7 here going forward, and we will learn." 

Detractors of that opinion like to quote the old 'definition of insanity', which is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result.

We'll see if the Leafs try to do the same thing again in the weeks ahead.

As for Marner himself, he talked today about how much he "loved" his time with the Leafs.

Is the use of the word "loved" past tense? That's up for discussion. 

Photo: © John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

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