Insider suggests that another Eastern Conference team waiting to try to poach Sheldon Keefe

In the days leading up to Brendan Shanahan's decision to walk away from Kyle Dubas, effectively relieving him of his duties as GM of the Leafs, there was a lot of talk about Sheldon Keefe's head being the first one to potentially roll. When Dubas was the one sent packing, there were a lot of jaws dropping, not only in Toronto, but around the NHL.

In the weeks since Dubas' departure, the Leafs have been very tight-lipped about what may or may not happen with Sheldon Keefe. Some reports have surfaced that the Leafs have held multiple meetings with Keefe and that bringing him back for the final year of his current deal probably doesn't happen without an extension in place in hopes of avoiding another lame duck situation.

A new report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman is suggesting that there may another NHL team watching this situation between Keefe and the Maple Leafs closely, just in case it falls apart. That team, according to Friedman, is the New York Rangers.

The fact that the Rangers have been searching for a coach for as long as they have without a decision being made sort of seems like a similar situation to the one we just saw resolve in Pittsburgh. The Pens had interviewed a long list of candidates - some two or three times - but didn't pull the trigger on a hire right away in hopes that Kyle Dubas would become available. In the end, Dubas was let go and cut right to the front of the line in Pittsburgh, becoming the President of Hockey Ops and interim GM almost immediately.

Could we see a similar situation unfold in New York if the Leafs decide to move away from Sheldon Keefe? It's an interesting question and one that we may not have to wait too long to find the answer to as new Leafs GM Brad Treliving is already hard at work addressing needs within the organization with the Shane Doan hire on Thursday.

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