"It's safe to say that Craig Berube caught lightning in a bottle during the 2018-19 season. The Blues were a talented team that was underperforming and needed someone to come in and point them in the right direction. Having a future Hall of Fame defenceman in Alex Pietrangelo didn't hurt either. In fact, a comically deep blue line and team lousy with two-way talented top six forwards, along with emerging youthful talent like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, was a blessing. And that's before even discussing the unsustainably great rookie campaign from Jordan Binnington."
"Berube does deserve credit for righting the ship after Mike Yeo's 7-9-3 start to the season (which coincidentally isn't that far off Berube's 8-9-2 start this year) and he followed up the cup championship season with a strong COVID shortened 2019-20 season as well, winning the Central Division."
"[Berube] encourages his players to move the puck around until they find ideal shooting lanes, rather than focusing on getting pucks on net and hoping for fortunate bounces. In other words, Berube desires shot quality over shot quality. But in this season, he ended up getting neither."
Craig Berube turned the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues' slow start into a Stanley Cup through a deep blue line, two-way forwards, and Jordan Binnington's rookie breakout. The team combined veteran leadership from Alex Pietrangelo with emerging talents like Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou to create sustained performance. Berube stabilized the club after an early-season slump and repeated success in the shortened 2019-20 campaign, capturing the Central Division. The 2020-21 56-game season saw regression after Pietrangelo departed and replacements failed to fully compensate, producing a narrow playoff berth and a path comparable to the Maple Leafs' recent struggles.
Read at TheLeafsNation
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