Date: November 9, 2025
Source: Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube)
After the Maple Leafs’ 5–4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, head coach Craig Berube pointed to immaturity in decision-making, costly turnovers, and a slip in defensive urgency and structure. He said the group is scoring enough to win but isn’t valuing the defensive side of the puck.
For more Leafs coverage, visit the Toronto Maple Leafs page on Toronto Sports Pulse.
On “Immature” Mistakes and Turnovers
“Could be immaturity, not a willingness to make the easy play. Turnover after turnover cost us the game tonight.
We didn’t check anybody tonight. We didn’t win any battles tonight. Two games in a row.”
On the Defensive Mindset
“For me it’s just a mindset. If you want to be a good defensive team, you’ve got to check, you’ve got to have good sticks, you’ve got to be hard, you’ve got to win battles, and you’ve got to have good structure.
Right now… it’s a mindset for me. We don’t— we don’t have any of that right now.”
On How to Change It
“We just keep working at it. My job as a coach is to get them back on track and that’s what I’m going to try to do… keep banging away at it. You look at video, you talk, you have discussions with players and with the team.
We’re scoring enough goals every game to win games. We’re letting in too many goals. Pretty much this season… we don’t value the defensive side of the puck enough. There’s a number of things that go into that… We just don’t right now. We don’t value that.”
On Dennis Hildeby’s Night
“He made a lot of saves. I mean, we gave him what, three breakaways in the second period—maybe four. I don’t know, I lost count. It has nothing to do with a goalie.”
On William Nylander’s Late Chances
“I don’t think he has bad luck. He got two goals tonight and he’s been scoring pretty much regularly this year. Those things happen—bad breaks at times—but that doesn’t necessarily cost hockey games.
He could have tied the game up the other night, and he missed this one tonight, but it’s all the other stuff that happens before that— that’s why we’re losing.”
On the Recent Defensive Regression
“Last five games going into the Boston game, we were really trending in the right direction without the puck. Now our power play starts to click and we’re scoring… but the last two games we went right off the rails defensively.
It’s caused by puck play for sure—costly turnovers— and just the urgency that’s needed to defend.”
Pulse Takeaway
Berube’s message was linear and blunt: the Leafs’ offense isn’t the problem; mindset and defensive detail are. Until the group values checking, structure, and puck management, scoring won’t overcome the self-inflicted goals against.
Quotes from Craig Berube via Toronto Maple Leafs (YouTube). Used for analysis and commentary.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
About the Author
