Comments From Craig Berube Point to Some Different Motivation Tactics For Leafs Amid Losing Streak

Last night, the Maple Leafs traveled to Chicago to take on the Blackhawks with designs on righting the ship and skating away with a victory on the road to kick-start their turnaround.

Unfortunately, that's not how things worked out, with the Leafs dropping a 3-2 decision after surrendering a 2-1 lead that they had built in the second period, failing to shut the door in the 3rd to close things out.

Berube was surprisingly complimentary of his team following the loss, stating that they had done a lot of good things in Chicago, especially Joseph Woll, whom Berube claimed did everything he could to give his team a chance to win.

After their 5th straight loss, the Maple Leafs can't buy any confidence or good will with the hockey gods right now, and Berube knows it. However, rather than come down on his team with some tough love to build some motivation, Berube is taking a different approach, admitting that while a kick in the a** may work for some, it won't work for everyone.

William Nylander is one of the players who, in the past, has admitted that he needs a coach who will be direct with him. However, there are other ways to motivate players, and for some, sitting down with the coach for some proper guidance free of judgements and ridicule may be the way.

A lot of old school coaches are the way that they are because they played or coached old school hockey. Despite the fact that Berube played in a very rough era, though, these are not the principles he employs. Berube has learned from the mistakes of his previous mentors and has also went through lessons of his own as a coach which have taught him that sometimes empathy is the way.

The Leafs moved to 8-9-2 with last night's loss, and while it could be viewed as a pretty deep hole that they've dug for themselves, Berube knows what it takes to coach a team out of the basement and into the penthouse at the NHL level. He exhibited his strengths in this area when he took a last place Blues team in January of 2019 and led them to a Stanley Cup.

Berube also knows that he has a lot of veteran leadership in his locker room and that sometimes players have to go through lulls to light a fire under them.

The threat of missing the playoffs is very real as we approach the quarter mark of the season, so hopefully the Leafs come ready to play on Tuesday when they host Berube's former team, the St. Louis Blues.