The 52-year-old was in charge of the Maple Leafs’ power play during his lone season with the team, and the club finished the regular season with the No. 7 ranked unit in the league. However, Toronto scored one goal on 21 power-play opportunities during their first-round series against the Boston Bruins, which they lost in seven games.
Before joining the Maple Leafs, Boucher spent six seasons as an NHL head coach: three with the Tampa Bay Lightning between 2010-11 and 2012-13, and three with the Ottawa Senators between 2016-17 and 2018-19. He took both teams to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first seasons with the clubs.
It’s been a summer of turnover for the Maple Leafs. The team fired head coach Sheldon Keefe in May, days after the Bruins eliminated Toronto. Nearly two weeks later, the team would hire Craig Berube as his replacement. Berube was fired by the St. Louis Blues in December 2023 after a 13-14-1 start, but helped the Blues win their one and only Stanley Cup championship in 2018-19.
Berube spent parts of six seasons behind the Blues bench, compiling 206-132-44 record and .597 points percentage. Previously, he coached the Philadelphia Flyers in 2013-14 and 2014-15, going 75-58-28 (.553).
Berube brought in Lane Lambert as an associate coach on June 5, announcing the same day that Dean Chynoweth would not be brought back as an assisstant. Lambert served parts of two seasons as head coach with the New York Islanders, leading the team to a 61-46-20 record, and a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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