He led the Maple Leafs to a regular-season Atlantic Division crown and to just their second series win nine years. He witnessed the departure of 100-point man Mitch Marner, the firing of general manager Brad Treliving and watched as his captain and star player went down for the season with an MCL tear.
He also had the unfortunate honour of running the bench as Toronto not only broke their decade-long playoff streak, but did so through a spectacular tumble down the standings, finishing last in the division and 28th in the league.
“It’s not like we weren’t trying to go out there and win hockey games,” the head coach said at the Maple Leafs’ year-end press conference on Thursday morning. “We didn’t get it done.
“It’s on me. It’s on everyone. We didn’t perform at the level we needed to perform to get back to the playoffs.”
Perhaps frustratingly, the Maple Leafs seemed to have a chance, working a three-game win streak into the Olympic break. But their on-ice performance after the return to play left much to be desired, coming out of the break on an eight-game skid and went 5-20 to close out the season.
Enough for the organization to make a change up top.
“When (Treliving) was let go, you know, it was tough on me,” Berube said. “He gave me the opportunity here. A good friend. Loved working with him, so that’s difficult, but at the same time, I’ve got a job to do and I’ve got to keep doing it.”
The coach, who still has two years remaining on his contract, also told reporters he expects to be back behind the bench next season.
Despite the disappointment, Berube has faith in his room and believes 2025-26 was an outlier.
“We have some good players here,” he continued. “We have to make some adjustments, we have to make some moves to bring in, maybe, some different different players or different people, but there’s a good core here. Good players and good people, so I do believe we can bounce back.
“I think our culture is good in here. I don’t have a problem with the culture. I have a problem with how we performed on the ice. … I come in here daily and I see guys doing what they’re supposed to be doing and working hard in practice. The room is really good. The guys are good with each other. The culture is good around here.”