Jets to interview former Stanley Cup champion for HC vacancy

The Jets are now the fourth team to display interest in Craig Berube for their head coaching vacancy this offseason. He’s in Winnipeg and set to interview with the team on Tuesday, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports.

All indications point toward Berube heading north of the border, with the Jets and Maple Leafs as the finalists for his services. He and Todd McLellan are the reported finalists to replace Sheldon Keefe in Toronto, while associate coach Scott Arniel, per Seravalli, is a candidate for an internal promotion in Winnipeg after Rick Bowness announced his retirement earlier this month.

Berube’s other documented suitors have been the Devils and Senators, the latter of whom already filled their vacancy by signing Travis Green to a four-year deal. Meanwhile, New Jersey has reportedly tabbed Keefe and former Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft as their preferred options behind the bench.

Hiring Berube would make him the Jets’ third permanent head coach since 2014. Paul Maurice held the role over parts of nine seasons before being fired in 2021. Then-assistant Dave Lowry, now with the Kraken, stepped in for Maurice for the remainder of the 2021-22 season before the team hired Bowness the following offseason.

If it wasn’t already, it’s clear the 2019 Stanley Cup champion is the highest-valued coaching candidate on the market. He was fired by the Blues early in the 2023-24 season after posting a 13-14-1 record, ending his tenure in St. Louis with a 206-132-44 record in 382 games across parts of six seasons. Before St. Louis, his only previous head coaching experience had come in a two-year stint with the Flyers, posting a 75-58-28 record across the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.