New coach Craig Berube, Leafs face rival Canadiens in opener

Craig Berube makes his Toronto coaching debut when the visiting Maple Leafs open the 2024-25 regular season against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Craig Berube makes his Toronto coaching debut when the visiting Maple Leafs open the 2024-25 regular season against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Sheldon Keefe led Toronto to a 46-26-10 mark last season, good for third in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- their fourth first-round loss in five seasons under Keefe, who was let go on May 9 and then hired by the New Jersey Devils.

Berube, 58, coached the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup title in 2019 and is not the only new addition. On Monday, the Maple Leafs officially signed forwards Max Pacioretty and Steven Lorentz to one-year contracts. The 35-year-old Pacioretty is expected to skate on the third line and Lorentz on the fourth.

"I'm happy about that," Berube said. "I thought both of them had good camps. They've got size, skating. They're different players, I get that, but both are very important."

Lorentz, 28, won a Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season. Pacioretty, limited by an injury and his recovery from a second Achilles surgery, totaled four goals and 19 assists in 47 games for the Capitals last season.

"At this stage in my career, the most important thing is winning, and I feel that this group has a chance to win," Pacioretty said. "There's a lot of strong players."

Those players include a loaded top six featuring the likes of Auston Matthews (69 goals last season), William Nylander (40) and Mitch Marner (26).

Toronto boosted its defense with the addition of Chris Tanev, 34. The free agent signee finished last season tied for third in the NHL with 207 blocked shots.

Joseph Woll and free agent signee Anthony Stolarz, a Cup champion with the Panthers last season, will handle the goaltending duties.

The Canadiens' 30-36-16 mark left them in eighth place in the Atlantic for their third straight last-place finish.

The team's major offseason acquisition, forward Patrik Laine, suffered a sprained knee and will be out two to three months.

Nevertheless, coach Martin St. Louis is optimistic heading into the opener.

"I'm very encouraged that our five-on-five game is going to be the foundation of our success," St. Louis said on Monday. "The special teams, we could be running at 30 percent right now and probably talking about, 'Well, they did it against American (Hockey) League guys.' "

When healthy, the 26-year-old Laine will join a young but impressive top-six forward group that includes a top line of Nick Suzuki (33 goals last season), Cole Caufield (28) and Juraj Slafkovsky (20), each of whom is 25 or younger. Plus, Kirby Dach returns after missing all but four periods of last season.

Rookie defenseman Lane Hutson should help at both ends, while Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau are solid between the pipes.

That said, facing a talented rival like Toronto is not exactly easing into the season.

"I think we'll be just fine," St. Louis said. "To me, I want to make sure that we stay process-driven through the game; not worried about the result, just stay focused on the process through that emotional high."

--Field Level Media