Toronto Maple Leafs powerplay units get called out by head coach Craig Berube

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TJ Tucker
November 3, 2024 (7:02 PM)

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Craig Berube, head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has given his take on the team's powerplay woes, putting the blame squarely at the feet of the players

In case you've missed it, the Toronto Maple Leafs' powerplay isn't just bad this year, it flat out stinks. In fact, after going 0-4 with the man advantage last night in a loss against the St. Louis Blues, the Maple Leafs dropped to dead last in the NHL when it comes to the powerplay. 3 goals in 38 chances, which is a success rate of just 8.3 percent.

Head coach Craig Berube, who has shown already in the new NHL season that he has no issue holding his players accountable when they deserve it, had to know he would be asked about the Toronto Male Leafs powerplay issues. He was ready for it, calling out his players and revealing the solution.

"It's execution, to be honest with you. There's not a directness to it. We're not getting pucks to the net enough. We're on the power play. We need to shoot pucks more. We need to get pucks to the net and create opportunities around the net on broken plays. But we're not. There's not a shot mentality on the power play right now."

It's certainly not a unique problem, but it is one that's plagued the Toronto Maple Leafs for some time now. Marc Savard was brought in as an assistant coach to help with the powerplay in the offseason, but whatever he's doing isn't working. It's already put him on the hot seat in Toronto.

Craig Berube is excellent at holding his players accountable when there are problems. However, it is entirely up to the players whether they respond. The Maple Leafs powerplay has been bad for a while, and there's absolutely no reason for it given the talent and money included in the lineup every night. Players need to hold themselves accountable as well.