Berube says he'll demand more accountability

Craig Berube was an enforcer as a hockey player, so no one should have expected him to mince words during his first day as the Flyers' new head coach.

Berube, formerly a veteran assistant coach with the Flyers, replaced Peter Laviolette after an 0-3 start. His immediate task will be to breathe some fire into what has been perceived as a lifeless unit.

So when he was asked whether he sensed there was more that the players could be giving, Berube didn't worry about anybody's feelings.

"This team is underachieving and there is a lot more to give, and my job is to get it out of them and my job will be to put things in place to help them," Berube said after Monday's news conference at the Wells Fargo Center.

The 47-year-old Berube talked about how the Flyers need to play better defense and then took a shot at the team's collective effort.

"We need to play better without the puck and need to compete a lot harder," he said.

Berube speaks in almost whispered tones, but his message is loud and clear. If players don't give the effort, he will find others who will.

Any complacency that may have set in will be a thing of the past in his reign as the franchise's 18th head coach, he said.

"Complacency sets in and sometimes a new coach comes in and that is out the window [and it's like] here we go again," said Berube, who was given a multiyear deal.

Berube was a warrior during parts of 17 seasons, from 1986-87 through 2002-03. All that is needed to know about him are these career numbers - 61 goals and 3,149 penalty minutes in 1,054 regular-season games. He ranks seventh in NHL history in penalty minutes.

The Flyers were his first NHL team and he was there for two stints. In parts of seven seasons with the Flyers he had 20 goals and 1,138 penalty minutes in 323 regular-season games. He is ninth on the Flyers' all-time list for penalty minutes.

Yet Berube was known as more than a thug to the Flyers organization, especially after his playing days were through.

"Craig is one of the smartest hockey guys I've ever been around," Flyers general manger Paul Holmgren said.

Berube became a player-assistant with the AHL's Phantoms in January 2004 and moved to full-time assistant with the team the next two seasons.

He was the Phantoms head coach the first six games of the 2006-07 season, then was promoted to be a Flyers assistant.

In 2007-2008, Berube returned as the Phantoms head coach and posted a 49-29-5-3 mark. He returned as a Flyers assistant for the 2008-09 season and held that job until Monday.

The low point of Berube's career came in 1997 as a member of the Washington Capitals when he was suspended for a game after calling Florida Panthers rookie Peter Worrell, who is black, a monkey during an on-ice scuffle. Berube later apologized to Worrell.

That incident aside, Berube is respected for his toughness and dedication, not to mention his direct approach. The players will surely know where they stand with Berube.

"He is, if you get to know him, a no-frill, no-[nonsense] guy," Holmgren said.

Holmgren pointed out two differences he sees between Berube and Laviolette.

"I think from an accountability standpoint, they might be a little different," Holmgren said. "Their ideas of the overall team concept when it comes to playing defense are probably different."

Berube said his first task is to show the Flyers what it truly is like to play hard.

"Sometimes players think that they are playing hard enough and they are not," he said.

He was then asked how he could get the players to play harder.

And in his no-frills style, Berube responded with a simple answer.

"Demand it," he said. "Accountability."

17

Seasons as an NHL player, with five teams.

3,149

Penalty minutes, seventh in NHL history.

54

Points in parts of seven seasons with the Flyers.

49-29-5-3

His record as Phantoms coach in 2007-08. EndText