Craig Berube breaks silence on viral photo with Mitch Marner

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a franchise altering move shortly after their latest early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, parting ways with head coach Sheldon Keefe and replace him with former 2019 Stanley Cup-winning coach Craig Berube.

And it wouldn't be long before the new Leafs bench boss would go viral on social media after a photograph of him meeting with forward Mitch Marner at a local establishment began making the rounds. Initially upon the hiring of Berube, many wondered how the talented Leafs forward would operate in the wake of the revelation from ex-head coach Sheldon Keefe essentially treating him with kid gloves. 

Berube, who is known for his gruff and no-nonsense approach to coaching, stated late last month that he was "looking forward" to coaching Marner in the upcoming 2024-25 season

"(Marner is) a character guy," Berube explained. "He's a great person. Obviously, a great player. I'm looking forward to coaching him."

Berube has since doubled down on those comments while saying that he wasn't surprised that the photograph of him and Marner was made public. 

"It's not surprising at all," he said. "To be honest with you, I'd forgotten about it already. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm focused on talking to the player. That's it. Things happen." 

Marner has been the subject of intense scrutiny leading up to what will be the final year of his current contract, especially after another subpar performance in the postseason that also included an angry outburst on the bench and what appeared to be teammate William Nylander yelling at him to "stop f***ing crying". 

Can Berube lead the Maple Leafs to long-awaited playoff success, and will Marner be a long-term component of the roster under the new look coaching staff? 

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