Former Leaf defends Sheldon Keefe and explains why he shouldn't be fired
Since being eliminated in 5 games by Florida, in what was supposed to be a great opportunity for the Leafs to make it to the Cup Final after Boston and Tampa were eliminated in round 1, many have called for change at just about every level of the Leafs. Some want the Core 4 traded, others want Kyle Dubas or Brendan Shanahan gone, and of course plenty want Sheldon Keefe let go as well.
On TSN1050's First Up radio show this morning, former Leaf and host of the show Carlo Colaiacovo defended both Sheldon Keefe and Kyle Dubas.
"At the end of the day the coach doesn't go out and play the game. It's the players that dictate the game. If the Leafs consider themselves a Stanley Cup contender, if there was a coach out there that was better than Sheldon Keefe I would make the change. You don't just make the change to make the change. I understand people are wanting change, but you can't just make changes to make changes, especially if you think you're still in the Stanley Cup window. Sometimes you have to run it back and just change the pieces in your group with the players. I don't see there's a disconnect between the players and the coach and that's why I wouldn't make a coaching change," said Colaiacovo.
Colaiacovo continued to defend Sheldon Keefe and Kyle Dubas saying, "The Leafs don't have a coaching problem, don't have a GM problem, they have a player problem. The players that this team has trusted, are all great players, but together they aren't capable of getting the job done."
Colaiacovo makes a very good point in his defence of Keefe and Dubas. Keefe implemented the strategies and game plans and the players failed to execute them while Dubas gave them everything he could at the trade deadline to give them the best possible chance to win, yet the players did not execute. Specifically the Core 4, who were essentially neutralized against Florida. https://twitter.com/FirstUp1050/status/1658473518886195204?s=20
