There will most likely be massive changes in Toronto this summer; here's the first domino that should fall
For the second straight year, the Leafs were quite arguably the better team in a series that they came out on the losing end of. Honestly, it absolutely sucks - there's just no other way to say it.
The Leafs have one of the most impressive groups in the NHL from an offensive perspective and this year, they were also better on defense and in net than in years past. For head coach Sheldon Keefe, he didn't even bother entering the Leafs' dressing room following the heartbreaking 3-2 OT loss in Game 5 last night. His reasoning behind not addressing his team last night?
There are a number of ways that we can interpret this one. For one, it could mean that Keefe simply wants to give his guys some time to process and go through their full range of emotions. It also could have to do with the fact that the Leafs were the better team in the series by a pretty large margin, so there wasn't much to criticize. Some have even taken his words and actions as a sign of cowardess, as he has once again failed his team - though you could just as easily argue that his team failed him.
Regardless of what the reason was behind not wanting to address the team last night, I don't know if there's any way that Sheldon Keefe can be back with the team next season. Yes, he has an extremely good regular season winning percentage - record-setting in fact - but there are just too many failures over the past few years to turn a blind eye to the fact that he can't get the most out of his players when they need to be at their absolute best.
Keefe came up short in his first playoff run with the Leafs, losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the bubble in 5 games back in 2020. He followed that up by blowing a 3-1 series lead over the 16th seed Montreal Canadiens, losing Games 5, 6 and 7 to yet another inferior opponent. Last season, he couldn't win the matchups game against Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing in Game 7 and, well, we all know how this year ended.
Echoing a statement from earlier in this piece, the Leafs had a bevy of offensive weapons in their lineup. They also had an abundance of intangibles and leadership qualities, not only in the room prior to the deadline, but with the guys they brought in (O'Reilly, Acciari, Schenn, etc), they further improved in those areas and still came up short. Yes, you can point to injuries to Ilya Samsonov and Matthew Knies as contributing factors in the loss, but every team deals with issues. The truly great teams rise above it and power through. The Leafs.. well, we know how they handled those losses. Nobody elevated their game and took over and now there's another long summer ahead.
Is there a clear upgrade available to come in and replace Keefe? Maybe, maybe not. Joel Quenneville is certainly an interesting name. His resume speaks for itself, but there's also his involvement in the whole Kyle Beach scandal to consider. The optics would be horrible. Bruce Boudreau, a Toronto native, is also an intriguing option. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Kyle Dubas promote assistant coach Spencer Carbery, who was one of the very best AHL coaches around during his time with the Hershey Bears. Carbery has been a hot commodity, interviewing for multiple head coaching jobs around the league over the last year or so. It can't get any worse than how it's been under Keefe in the playoffs, right?
Honestly, I'm very interested to see how the Leafs and MLSE approach this summer. Will we see a firesale? Will Shanahan, Dubas and Keefe all be relieved of their duties? Will any of the three be back next season? I don't have the answer to these questions, but in my opinion, Dubas deserves to be extended for the work he's done - especially throughout COVID and the flat cap. To me, he's the right guy for the job and with just about any GM in the league, they typically have the opportunity to go through a few different coaches before their job is the one in jeopardy. Dubas had taken over at the tail-end of the Babcock era, and the two never really got along, so we shouldn't necessarily count Babs in this. Keefe was Dubas' first coaching hire. I think you probably give him a chance to replace his coach before you toss his head under the guillotine.
It's really anyone's guess what's going to happen, but if any domino should fall first, it's probably the guy who failed to get the most out of his very talented stable of players. Keefe's head should probably be the first to roll.
| POLL | ||
MAI 13 | 1523 ANSWERS There will most likely be massive changes in Toronto this summer; here's the first domino that should fall Will Sheldon Keefe be the first casualty in Toronto this summer? | ||
| Yes | 1161 | 76.2 % |
| No | 362 | 23.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
