Peter DeBoer reportedly reaches out to Craig Berube directly over Maple Leafs coaching job

Heading into the holiday break, the Toronto Maple Leafs' coaching staff was certainly under fire with many calling for the organization to make some serious changes behind the bench, including Craig Berube's position.

Ultimately, the Leafs decided to fire assistant coach Marc Savard and eventually replaced him with Steve Sullivan. However, while many applauded the change with the power play struggling, some wanted the Leafs to make a move for Peter DeBoer to replace Berube as well.

There were a lot of stories that the Leafs locker room had essentially tuned out Berube's voice and his message, and with the veteran bench boss on the open market, it was a move many felt could pay dividends almost immediately. However, the Leafs' front office has stood behind Berube and that doesn't look like it'll change anytime soon.

Based on a report from Elliotte Friedman during tonight's Saturday Headlines segment, DeBoer actually reached out to Berube amidst all the talk about the latter's job security, and essentially told him he had no interest in the Leafs position, and that Berube shouldn't be distracted by the noise.

Berube was brought to Toronto to bring a different element to their game and we saw that pay off immediately last year when they won the Atlantic Division, while pushing the defending Stanley Cup champions to the brink of elimination in their second round matchup in the playoffs.

For whatever reason, his message has not sunk in with the team this year and it has been reflected by their positioning in the Eastern Conference standings.

It's hard to believe the Leafs make any other coaching changes now that DeBoer has essentially bowed out of the running, so we could see a much looser Berube in the next coming weeks as their schedule becomes more hectic ahead of the Olympic Break.