Craig Berube

Craig Berube
Berube pictured as assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011
Born	(1965-12-17) December 17, 1965 Calahoo, AB, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Philadelphia Flyers Toronto Maple Leafs Calgary Flames Washington Capitals New York Islanders
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	1986–2004

Craig "Chief" Berube (born December 17, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for the Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders.

Playing career

Berube played 1054 NHL regular season games between 1986 and 2003. He was known as an enforcer in the NHL and amassed 3149 penalty minutes in his career, good for seventh on the all-time list.

Berube was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Philadelphia Flyers on March 19, 1986. He made his NHL debut on March 22, 1987, recording 16 penalty minutes which included two fighting majors, in a 3–1 Flyers win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[1] He remained with the Flyers through the end of the regular season and also played in five playoff games during the Flyers run to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals. Berube cemented his place in the Flyers lineup during the 1988–89 season and finished in the top ten in penalty minutes during the next two seasons.

Following the 1990–91 season, Berube was traded three times in a span of a little over seven months, twice in the off-season. The Flyers traded him to the Edmonton Oilers along with Craig Fisher and Scott Mellanby for Dave Brown, Corey Foster, and Jari Kurri on May 30. Four months later he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with Glenn Anderson and Grant Fuhr for Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, and Scott Thornton on September 19. Berube played the first half of the 1991–92 season with Toronto before he was traded again on January 2, 1992 to the Calgary Flames along with Alexander Godynyuk, Gary Leeman, Michel Petit, and Jeff Reese for Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Kent Manderville, Ric Nattress, and Rick Wamsley.

Berube remained with the Flames through the end of the 1992–93 season. He was traded on June 26, 1993 to the Washington Capitals for a fifth-round draft choice in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the next six seasons with the Capitals, notably playing in every playoff game during Washington's run to the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.

During a November 1997 game against the Florida Panthers, Berube called Panthers' forward Peter Worrell, who is black, "a monkey."^[2] Berube claimed the remark was not racially motivated and he apologized to Worrell a day after the game.^[2] The NHL suspended Berube for one game.^[2]

Berube returned to the Flyers in 1999 during the trade deadline. He saw his last Stanley Cup playoff action in 2000. In game four of the Eastern Conference Finals he scored the game-winning goal to put the Flyers up 3–1 in the series against the New Jersey Devils, but the Flyers lost the next three games and the series.

Berube split the next three seasons between the Capitals, New York Islanders, and the Flames. He ended his playing career as a player-assistant coach with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate, during the 2003–04 season.

Coaching career

Berube was named the head coach of the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers' affiliate in the American Hockey League, prior to the 2006–07 AHL season. However, on October 23, 2006, Berube was promoted to the Flyers' NHL coaching staff after a major reorganization in the franchise. On October 22, 2006, Bob Clarke had resigned from his position as general manager of the Flyers, and head coach Ken Hitchcock was released from his duties. John Stevens, formerly assistant coach, was named the Flyers' new head coach, and Berube was designated to replace him. For the 2007–08 season, Berube returned to the Phantoms as head coach. On October 7, 2013, Berube was named head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers following an 0–3–0 start.^[3] The team improved their play following the change to Berube, and clinched a spot in the 2014 NHL playoffs. On April 17, 2015, Berube was relieved of his coaching duties by Flyers general manager Ron Hextall.^[4]

NHL coaching record

Family

Craig is married with three children. They reside in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

He is of First Nations descent. During his time coaching the Flyers, he and Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan were the only head coaches in the NHL of First Nations ancestry.

Career statistics

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played
• List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes

References

1. ↑ "Flyers History - Philadelphia Flyer Game Summary". P. Anson. Retrieved October 8, 2013. 
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Michael Russo (November 26, 1997). "NHL Suspends Berube For Slur". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved October 8, 2013. 
3. ↑ "CRAIG BERUBE NAMED FLYERS HEAD COACH". Philadelphia Flyers. October 7, 2013. Retrieved December 8, 2014. 
4. ↑ "Craig Berube relieved of duties as Flyers head coach". Philadelphia Flyers. April 17, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Craig Berube.

• Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database