Auston Matthews flattens Derek Lalonde at practice, but Craig Berube steals the show
Photo credit: TSN
During the Maple Leafs' practice, Auston Matthews levelled assistant coach Derek Lalonde with a hit, but it was Craig Berube who had the last laugh after colliding with Jake McCabe. Fortunately, everyone was alright and was just a moment of levity for the team.
It's not too often you see coaches getting in the middle of things during a team practice, as while they still work closely with their players, often tend to stay out of the physical stuff and let their voices do most of the work.
That wasn't exactly the case for the Toronto Maple Leafs recently, and assistant coach Derek Lalonde ended up learning the hard way that Toronto can get physical even on their days off.
The 'lighthearted' collision between Matthews and Lalonde
During the team's recent practice, Lalonde was participating in a drill when Auston Matthews ended up flattening the former Red Wings bench boss with a hit although inadvertently.
Matthews was barreling into the zone and couldn't stop in time before running over Lalonde, who spilled to the ice.
But Lalonde wasn't the only coach who ended up on the end of some physicality, as Craig Berube was also skating with the team when he and Jake McCabe ended up bumping into each other.
However, as Berube proudly noted: at least he stayed on his feet.
Berube stays on his feet and reminds everyone who is boss
Speaking with TSN on Tuesday, Berube was asked about the funny moment and didn't mind taking a little shot at Lalonde for his balance issues, as he seemed to enjoy being the one to stand tall.
Berube joked:
It was funny, I was standing right there and they were doing a little cross-and-play and 'Newsy' [Lalonde] got rocked. But McCabe ran into me and not much happened right?
He then continued when asked about who got the worst of the collision quipping:
Probably McCabe.
Hearing and seeing Berube laugh and smile is such a turnaround from the coach we saw only a few weeks ago at a loss for words with his team's performances.
It shows that perhaps the mood in the locker room is changing from a team who is trying to fight their way through a boatload of adversity into ones who are taking that challenge and making the most of it.
Berube also standing tall is a message to the team that if he can withstand some physicality at his age, so too can his players and maybe they'll have that extra effort needed to grind out puck battles and play tougher.
While it was a funny interaction all things considered, and no one was hurt, it is a sign that the tide is changing in the Maple Leafs locker room. A couple of weeks ago, Berube might not have been laughing as much if he got run into.
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