“Hearing a formal interview with Berube is expected after some initial conversation between he and Bowman. Permission to speak with Bruce Cassidy had still not been granted as of Sunday night,” Ryan Rishaug of TSN reported on his X account.

Amid the interest from McDavid’s Oilers, Cassidy revealed his desire to join a contender, signaling there is traction between the two sides toward reaching an agreement. However, as long as the Golden Knights remain focused on their Stanley Cup chase—or perhaps conveniently distracted enough not to pick up the phone and let their former coach take over a divisional rival—nothing can materialize.

Oilers receive permission to interview Berube

Berube was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs following the 2025-26 campaign. The head coach who guided the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup in 2019 wasn’t in Toronto long enough to see the Buds come away with the No. 1 selection in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

Coming off a two-season stay in Hogtown, Berube has likely learned a lesson or two about being at the helm in a demanding Canadian market. Contrary to the Golden Knights, the Maple Leafs are throwing no wrench into the Oilers’ plans. As reported by Elliotte Friedman, Edmonton has been granted permission to speak with Berube.

Whether the Oilers are seriously interested or just using their free time while waiting on Cassidy, that’s a different question. For Stan Bowman and the thin-ice-walking brass in the Gateway to the North, it may be the perfect distraction to tone down the buzz.

Oilers can’t talk with Cassidy

One thing is clear, though: the Oilers won’t stay idle with their arms crossed. At the very least, they owe it to McDavid, the rest of the team, and the fanbase to stay active and leave no stone unturned. The 2025-26 NHL season saw Edmonton take a considerable step back, and while some argue firing Kris Knoblauch wasn’t the right decision, what’s done is done.

Cassidy is the main target, but he is currently out of reach due to the Golden Knights’ pettiness. Sooner or later, league commissioner Gary Bettman may step in and demand Vegas grant permission for teams to interview Cassidy. For the time being, however, the Knights can keep up the act, even if they have no reason whatsoever to restrict access to their former head coach.

Cassidy has a year left on his contract with Vegas, as he was fired without cause. It looks like the organization in Sin City is putting the saying, ‘two wrongs don’t make a right,’ to the ultimate test.

General manager John Chayka addressed the organization’s decision in an official statement released by the team. “Craig is a tremendous coach and an even better person,” Chayka said, via NHL.com.

He also added, “This decision is more reflective of an organizational shift and an opportunity for a fresh start than it is an evaluation of Craig. We are grateful for his leadership, professionalism and commitment to the Maple Leafs organization and wish Craig and his family nothing but the best moving forward.”

The announcement comes after Toronto failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2016, a major setback for a franchise that entered the season with expectations of remaining among the Eastern Conference contenders.

Maple Leafs searching for new direction after disappointing season

Berube’s dismissal reflects growing pressure within the organization after the team struggled to build momentum following last year’s playoff run. In his first season with Toronto, Berube guided the Maple Leafs to the second round of the playoffs. However, Toronto was unable to carry that postseason momentum into the following year.

The Leafs’ failure to reach the playoffs marked one of the organization’s most disappointing seasons in recent memory, especially considering the expectations surrounding the roster and coaching staff entering the campaign.

Toronto now faces major offseason decisions

With Berube no longer leading the bench, the Maple Leafs now enter a critical offseason that could reshape multiple areas of the organization. The team also confirmed that the next head coach will determine the makeup of the remainder of Toronto’s coaching staff, signaling the possibility of broader structural changes behind the scenes.

Attention will now shift toward who the Maple Leafs select as their next head coach as the franchise attempts to reestablish itself as a legitimate Stanley Cup contender after an unexpected step backward this season.

Matthews is under contract through the 2027-28 campaign, but he still shied away from voicing a convincing answer on his future. This past season took its toll on Matthews—figuratively and literally, as he underwent surgery for a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion in his left leg. As the Maple Leafs stare down at a long offseason, Matthews kept his answer short and vague when asked if he’d stay in town in the event of a rebuild.

“I can’t really predict the future,” Matthews admitted, as reported by Sportsnet’s Anna Dua. The captain’s answer was much more cryptic than Berube’s. According to Dua, Berube stated he believes he’ll be Toronto’s head coach in 2026–27 and hasn’t heard anything from the front office to make him think otherwise.

Maple Leafs must hire a GM

Before the 2025–26 NHL season came to an end, the Maple Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving—who will manage Team Canada at the upcoming IIHF World Championships. Thus, that job is now vacant in Toronto. For Berube, it only adds to the suspense. His future as head coach of the Maple Leafs lies in the hands of whoever is named the next GM.

Until then, Berube can speculate about the future, but it may all be in vain. Moreover, the new general manager will have to get to work with Matthews. In the past, Matthews has been very welcoming to new executives in The Six. He signed a five-year extension in February 2019—less than a year after Kyle Dubas took over as GM—and another four-year deal in August 2023—only months after Treliving was hired.

This time around, Matthews isn’t eligible for an extension until the summer of 2027, but he could still choose to cooperate with the new GM and commit long term to the Maple Leafs. Or perhaps the third time will be different, and Matthews has learned his lesson.

Matthews wants the Cup

After all, Matthews wants to win. He’d love to snap the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup drought, but if the organization trends in a different direction, he might lose his patience and ask out. If that day comes, the phone won’t stop ringing inside Scotiabank Arena, and whoever is the GM at that time may be left with no choice but to trade the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer. It’d be a dark day in Toronto, and a move that not many executives in the NHL may ever be able to live down.

The fact that Matthews isn’t trying to predict the future nor commit long term to the Maple Leafs may signal the Buds’ captain is thinking about it. It may not be today, tomorrow, or next month, but the prospect of Matthews requesting a trade is always looming over the building.

For the first time in his career, Matthews missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the 2025–26 NHL season. He had grown accustomed to long offseasons filled with drama after early playoff exits, but this is an entirely new feeling—one he didn’t sign up for, and one he may not stand much longer.

“I thought the whole team was very competitive tonight. It’s a good team over there,” Berube said about the Maple Leafs’ performance against the Wild on the road, via NHL.com.

After ending their 8-game losing streak, the Maple Leafs have now secured points in three straight (2-0-1). If there is ever a slim beacon of hope for Toronto, this might be it. Berube and company know they must ride out this wave of momentum.

However—with Matthews sidelined for the remainder of the NHL season—the Buds are in for a steep climb if they want to get back in the playoff race. Some fans will tell you they rather embrace the tank, and who knows? Maybe Gavin McKenna falls right into the Maple Leafs’ lap.

What happened to Auston Matthews?

Matthews was injured after taking a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks enforcer Radko Gudas. Gudas, who had already played a role on Sidney Crosby’s lower-body injury, has put himself in the eye of the storm once again in the NHL. As a result, Gudas was handed a five-game suspension by the Department of Player Safety, which Berube criticized after Matthews’ season-ending injury.

However, that’s little consolation for Matthews and the Maple Leafs. While Gudas will miss five games, Matthews will miss a total of 16 games in the 2025-26 regular season because of the injury. Matthews has sustained a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion. Moreover, there are concerns on whether the captain will be fully healthy to start the 2026-27 season.

Shortly after the incident, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced a five-game suspension for Gudas. The ruling came the same day the Maple Leafs confirmed that Matthews suffered a Grade 3 tear of the medial collateral ligament along with a quad contusion, an injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season.

Matthews’ agent Judd Moldaver slammed the Gudas suspension and questioned NHL Player Safety. He argued that the decision damages confidence in the league’s disciplinary process.

Toronto head coach Berube expressed frustration with the decision. “Looking at it, we lose our guy, our captain for the year, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like enough for me… guy doing it is a repeat offender, it just doesn’t seem like enough,” Berube said via TSN’s Mark Masters.

Maple Leafs players question the ruling

Several players echoed Berube’s concerns about the suspension. John Tavares said the penalty “could’ve been longer,” noting that Matthews will miss far more time than the five games Gudas received.

Forward Matthew Knies shared a similar view, pointing to the significance of losing the team’s top player. “Our best player, our captain, is not going to be with us for the rest of the year. That’s a big loss… I would’ve loved to see a little bit more,” Knies said.

No matter what they do, the Maple Leafs can’t stop the bleeding. Mired in a three-game losing streak, Toronto is leaving no stone unturned. After firing assistant coach Marc Savard, the buzz around The Six has far from quieted down. Instead, many believe Berube or Brad Treliving—perhaps even both—could be next in line if the struggles continue.

However, according to reports from an NHL insider the Buds have already made up their minds on what to do with Berube and Treliving.

“The Toronto Maple Leafs made a bench change Monday night — removing Marc Savard, who was in charge of the power play — and, according to multiple sources, the coaching/managerial changes stop there. GM Brad Treliving and head coach Craig Berube are not on the firing line,” insider Elliotte Friedman reported on Sportsnet.

Maple Leafs have bigger concerns

While fans in The Six have grown sick and tired of the on-ice product put on display by Berube’s Maple Leafs, the issues don’t begin and end at the head coaching job.

Instead, there are several factors behind the Buds’ struggles. An injury-riddled season may be one of them, but it offers little excuse for such an embarrassing NHL campaign.

Through 35 games, the Maple Leafs sit last in the Atlantic Division with 35 points. At this stage last season, Toronto had 44 points and was in second place in the division.

Matthews’ struggles

Among the main sources of headaches in Hogtown is Auston Matthews’ production. The three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner has looked a gear off during the 2025–26 NHL campaign. At first, many believed it was just a slump, but its persistence may signal that something more is going on with the Leafs’ captain.

Through 30 games, Matthews has scored 14 goals. Coming off a career-low 33-goal campaign, the concern in Toronto is growing, as he is currently on pace for 38 goals this season—which would rank as the fourth-lowest total of his NHL career.