Craig Berube Falling Into the Same Habit That Ex-Leafs Coach Sheldon Keefe Was Guilty Of

The Toronto Maple Leafs overhauled the entire coaching staff this summer, hiring former Blues coach Craig Berube to replace Keefe, who signed a multi-year contract with the New Jersey Devils after being relieved of his duties in Toronto. However, we're quickly finding out that the more things change, the more they stay the same -- especially when it comes to Mitch Marner.

During Sheldon Keefe's tenure in Toronto, he would often ride his top stars into the ground, overplaying the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, rendering them less energetic as games went on.

Marner's versatility has been viewed as an enormous asset for the Maple Leafs for some time, and the fact that he's not only an excellent 5v5 contributor, but also a quality penalty killer and power play machine has resulted in his ice time skyrocketing over the past few seasons, a trend which is continuing under Berube.

On Saturday, Marner played over 26 minutes, leading all Maple Leafs by a pretty healthy margin in Boston. Following the loss to the Bruins, Berube admitted that he will have to manage Marner's ice time a little better, but that it's a challenge, given how excellent he is on special teams.

Berube cited Marner's elite penalty killing abilities as one of the primary reasons why his ice time eclipsed 26 minutes on Saturday, wearing a bit of a grin as he talked about his star winger. Berube knows he has a special player in Marner and he really does appear to be enjoying coaching the Markham, Ontario native.

For Marner to be at his most effective, Berube and company will likely aim to keep him closer to the 21 minute mark for TOI, but it's really going to be a challenge depending on the game state and how many penalties are called on any given night. Still, managing the ice time of an elite player who can play in all situations is a good problem to have.