We finally know all the details behind Craig Berube’s freak gym incident

Social media did a double take earlier this week when Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube appeared with a grotesque gash on his forehead and a purplish-black eye. The internet immediately started speculating, but Berube only offered a vague explanation at the time, calling it a “freak accident” while working out.

Now, we finally know exactly what happened and it sounds just as painful as it looks.

Late Thursday, details emerged courtesy of Derek Settlemyre of the Nasty Knuckles podcast, a longtime friend of Berube, who spoke directly with the Leafs bench boss about the incident. According to Settlemyre, the injury occurred during what should have been a routine gym session.

Berube was doing a barbell press when things went sideways. The bar came down unexpectedly, catching him flush and driving into his forehead with enough force to rip the skin downward.

“He was actually in the middle of the press,” Settlemyre explained. “The bar came down and got him.”

“But I said “Did it peel your forehead, the way the cut is, did it flap down?

“Oh yeah”, he goes, the weight, the force of the bar, and I’m like there must have, but you know when you’re you’re blood pumping, and you get hit, you bleed like crazy, and uh, he said, his blood, oh man.”

For a man like Berube, this kind of punishment almost feels on-brand. Before becoming an NHL coach, he was one of the league’s most feared enforcers, finishing seventh all-time in penalty minutes with a staggering 3,149. Bruises, blood, and battle scars were once part of the job description, just usually earned on the ice.

This time, though, the damage came from the gym.

The real question now: what hurts more? The brutal barbell accident, or the Maple Leafs’ current losing streak?