I Don’t Know What Berube Hockey Looks Like

The Toronto Maple Leafs are rolling right now. They’ve ended ten straight games with points, and suddenly they’re sitting above the playoff cut-off line. Given where this season sat not that long ago, that’s pretty hard to believe.

Because, truth be told, not long ago, it looked like the season was toast.

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Early This Season, the Maple Leafs Looked Lost

Earlier this year, this team couldn’t hold anything together. There was no structure to speak of. They looked slow. They blew leads in the third period. The second period felt like an adventure every night, and not the good kind. They’d get a lead, then immediately hand it back.

Neutral zone passes were panicked and hopeful, picked off, and turned back the other way in a hurry. The power play went so badly that they fired the power-play coach. It all felt like a mess. At one point, I even wrote that Craig Berube had coached the risk out of the team.

Looking back, I don’t know if I was right — and maybe I wasn’t completely wrong either.

I Admit, I Have No Idea What Craig Berube Hockey Should Look Like

The truth is, I don’t really know what “Berube hockey” is supposed to look like anymore. I’m still not sure what the structure is supposed to be, or what the identity really is. All I know is they’re winning — and they’re winning in ways we weren’t seeing before.

Something has changed.

The lineup changes Berube made — especially up front — have worked. Lines that shouldn’t work on paper are somehow clicking. The Nicolas Roy – Nick Robertson – Easton Cowan line has been a surprise in the best way. Robertson looks like a player who belongs. Cowan doesn’t look overwhelmed. Roy looks like a leader. Berube rolls four lines as much as he can, and right now, he can.

Matthews Is Dangerous Again; Nylander Looks Locked In

The stars are doing star things again. Matthews looks dangerous again. Nylander looks locked in. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is having one of those seasons you don’t notice until you really start paying attention, and Scott Laughton just goes out and wins faceoffs and works every shift.

On paper, the defence still isn’t elite. Injuries are still a thing. Young players are being asked to do real NHL work. And yet, somehow, it’s holding together. That’s the part I can’t fully explain yet.

This team hangs in games now. They don’t quit. They seem to stick up for each other. There’s depth that covers for injuries instead of exposing them. Mistakes still happen, but this time they’re covered, not compounded.

About the Maple Leafs Postseason? Again, It’s a Mystery

I have no clue what a Maple Leafs postseason would look like if they get there. I don’t know how long they can keep this up, and I honestly can’t say what Berube’s team is really supposed to be.

But I do know that Maple Leafs hockey is entertaining again. It feels competitive. It feels repeatable. And if this team actually makes the playoffs, they should be battle-hardened and tighter than we’ve seen in years. For now, I’m just enjoying the games and hoping there’s something real here.

Related: Maple Leafs’ Interest in Brayden Schenn Came With Steep Cost Per Insider