NHL insider believes Maple Leafs' Craig Berube will have bigger role in team's decision-making - "Kind of in the inner circle now" 

NHL insider Chris Johnston believes Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube will have a bigger role in the team's decision-making going forward.

The Maple Leafs have begun making offseason changes, starting with Thursday's announcement that team president Brendan Shanahan would not have his contract renewed after 11 seasons in the role. The Maple Leafs also confirmed they won’t be appointing a new president to succeed Shanahan.

There are several big decisions to be made regarding UFA players on the team, mainly Mitch Marner and John Tavares.

When asked on TSN's "Overdrive" who would be making the calls on players like Marner and Tavares moving forward, Johnston said:

"I'd say I came away from that feeling as though Brad Treliving's making the final call on those guys. What has to be worked out a little bit here is, this was new, the idea that Craig Berube is kind of in the inner circle now.”

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Johnston pointed to the fact that Berube had dinner with Maple Leafs owner Keith Pelley the night before, something he believes shows Berube is more involved than most coaches with their respective ownerships.

“I think it's telling. When we asked Pelley about it, he said he thinks Craig's a tremendous asset to the organization. It’s someone he wants to lean on,” he added.

While it's unclear if Berube will have an official contractual role in personnel decisions, Johnston believes his viewpoint will now be more influential in the Maple Leafs' inner circle.

After getting past the Ottawa Senators in six games in the first round, the Leafs saw their playoff run come to an end in Round 2 to the Florida Panthers in seven games.

Keith Pelley on more "changes" for Maple Leafs

Keith Pelley, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, indicated more changes are likely coming for Toronto while expressing his confidence in general manager Brad Treliving and coach Craig Berube.

"Today is hard, but change is hard," Pelley said on letting Shanahan go via NHL.com. "We've made a lot of changes over the last year with this team and we've made progress. Further change will probably be needed to get us to the next level and yesterday was the first step."

What those changes will look like remains unclear as the organization will spend the next few weeks conducting an audit to determine how to best utilize its resources. Pelley did confirm he will work more closely with Treliving and Berube moving forward.