Leafs' Keefe expects NHL to look at late hit on "vulnerable" McCabe
Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe is expecting the NHL to take a further look at a “vulnerable” hit made by one of his former players.
Midway through the second period last night, Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment, who played four games for the Leafs in 2019-20, hit Toronto defenceman Jake McCabe quite hard into the boards.
that's a late hit on McCabe pic.twitter.com/maEVOrXU3J
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 8, 2024
And Keefe wasn’t exactly a fan of it,
“I see a vulnerable player who is targeted. I would have to think that is the type of hit you do not want to see in the game. He was bleeding everywhere. I am sure they are going to look at it,” Keefe said postgame, suggesting possible supplemental discipline for Marchment on the play.
But Keefe did praise his defenceman’s response to the play, both in the moment and throughout the game as Toronto edged out a 5-4 win.
“Jake is an absolute competitor. For him in that moment to not lose his cool, and not lose his cool for the remainder of the game… There were some confrontations between him and Marchment in the third period,” Keefe added. “Jake was hard on him and the team was hard on Marchment the rest of the way. I think Jake asked him for a fight. The fight didn’t happen, obviously.”
But the praise didn’t stop there from Keefe for his defenceman.
“Jake kept his cool and didn’t hurt the team. As we are learning or have learned, Jake is an absolute competitor and warrior. I loved how he handled that.”
Update: Marchment was fined $5,000 for the play, per NHL Player Safety.
Dallas’ Mason Marchment has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for interference on Toronto’s Jake McCabe.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) February 8, 2024
The win was Toronto’s first since the All-Star break, having dropped a 3-2 loss on home ice on Monday night to the New York Islanders.
The Leafs return to action this Saturday night, when they’ll head up the road to Ottawa for a matchup with their provincial rivals, the Senators. Puck drop for that one is set for 7 pm ET.
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