Craig Berube Drops Honest Truth on Why Leafs' Core Four Was a Major Problem in Toronto
Photo credit: TSN
In his exclusive interview with Darren Dreger, Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube revealed his distaste for the 'Core Four' moniker that has stuck for years.
During his first year with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Craig Berube transformed the team from a flashy offensive force into a more cohesive unit that's built on toughness, grit, and hard work to win games.
It brought an Atlantic Division title, and although he suffered through a rough year with Auston Matthews, he got stellar performances from the other three stars: John Tavares, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner.
The aforementioned quarter of players were also collectively known as the 'Core Four', something that brought a lot of pressure and expectations as these were supposed to be the leaders to send the team to glory.
Craig Berube Pushes Back on the «Core Four» Label and Its Lasting Impact
But Berube didn't really buy into any of that, and revealed to NHL Insider Darren Dreger that he frankly hated the term altogether.
In an exclusive interview with Dreger for TSN, 'Chief' mentioned that the whole Core Four nonsense was overblown, and it's not four players who make a team, but the entirety of the roster:
It's a team game, I've always been team-first, and I believe every guy has to put the team ahead of himself to be successful in this league.
When you have that buy-in from everybody, the team becomes more important than the individual, and you have a greater chance of success. Take less, give more; I always use that term.
I hear «Core 4» all the time. But it's not just those 4 guys winning or losing hockey games, it's the whole team. That's all it was. The guys who were lumped into that «Core 4» probably had enough of it.
You need your best players to be your best players, I get that. But over the years, with the «Core 4,» it felt like it was all on them all the time. I'm sure they felt that way too. And it's not all on them, It's a team game.
When you have that buy-in from everybody, the team becomes more important than the individual, and you have a greater chance of success. Take less, give more; I always use that term.
I hear «Core 4» all the time. But it's not just those 4 guys winning or losing hockey games, it's the whole team. That's all it was. The guys who were lumped into that «Core 4» probably had enough of it.
You need your best players to be your best players, I get that. But over the years, with the «Core 4,» it felt like it was all on them all the time. I'm sure they felt that way too. And it's not all on them, It's a team game.
For Berube, the fact that all the noise was focused on four guys gave his team a lot of unwanted and unnecessary distractions, and coupled with the entire Marner contract situation; it made things messy.
Uncharacteristic Game 7 Mistakes Show the Danger of Relying Too Much on Stars
It was that Game 7 that ends up living in the minds of Maple Leafs fans, and with that particular game always being a thorn in their side, having such a stranglehold on the series made it hurt even more.
It was something that Berube took umbrage with, and mentioned that if the team had stuck to their guns it might have worked out:
You don't have to be great every night. You just need to be good and consistent. Good and consistent.
A lot of times it was like, «I need to be great tonight.» No, you don't. You just need to be good, predictable, and consistent.
I think maybe that hurt us in Game 7 a little bit. After the 1st period, we started doing some uncharacteristic things, and that ended up costing us the hockey game.
A lot of times it was like, «I need to be great tonight.» No, you don't. You just need to be good, predictable, and consistent.
I think maybe that hurt us in Game 7 a little bit. After the 1st period, we started doing some uncharacteristic things, and that ended up costing us the hockey game.
Toronto played a solid first period, and they were tied 0-0 headed into the second, but the wheels fell off with Florida grabbing a 3-0 lead within ten minutes.
They didn't let up and a consolation goal from Max Domi merely made a scratch in Florida's lead. They lacked effort, and it felt as if they accepted their fate and merely played things out as a formality.
It led to a slew of changes in the offseason including offloading Marner, parting ways with Brendan Shanahan as team president, and adding a ton of new faces with a new lineup dynamic.
All of it is a part of Craig Berube trying to add more predictability and consistency in his lineup, and there's surely more moves to come with him and Brad Treliving working together.
There's no more 'Core Four' for Craig Berube, and he's focused on bringing the collective 23-man roster together in order to find success.
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