What does Shanahan's silence on Keefe mean for Leafs' coach?

May 28 2023, 7:05 pm

Depending on who you ask, the Toronto Maple Leafs could be described as a franchise a state of major disarray right now.

Some nine days out from the Leafs firing general manager Kyle Dubas, the Leafs have been the target of all sorts of rumours for what the future holds for their team, their next general manager, and their front office.

Dubas himself seems like he might be headed for a job elsewhere — say, Pittsburgh? — while the Leafs have been tied to all sorts of candidates for his replacement, as former Flames general manager Brad Treliving appears to be the front-runner for the role.

But what about Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe, who remains employed by the team for now — but who has no true guarantee that he’ll be back next season?

“We want to support the GM. The GM, the coach, and the players are forward-facing the most. The most pressure is on them,” Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said last Friday. “Without making any promises, we will look at everything in the organization and try to make decisions that will make us better.”

That’s hardly a vote of confidence, but it is intriguing that Shanahan both a) didn’t mention Keefe by name once during his end-of-season press conference b) doesn’t seem in a rush to make a move on the team’s coach either way.

Keefe was a Dubas hire, of course, with the pair working together both with the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and eventually winning a Calder Cup with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2018 some weeks before Dubas was promoted to general manager.

Keefe’s problems have never really been getting the best out of his roster in the regular season, as he’s put up three of the Leafs’ four best regular seasons ever (by points percentage) in his time as head coach.

But despite getting Toronto over the hump for their first playoff series win in 19 years this spring, he’s garnered a reputation of being out-coached by his veteran counterparts come postseason time.

Priority No. 1 for Toronto appears to be finding a general manager, with the old NHL adage that an incoming general manager usually has the choice to either fire or keep the incumbent head coach.

But whoever’s making that call, it’s not one they can take lightly.

Even if they’re set to lose a key supplementary piece or two to free agency, they’ll still have the opportunity to trot out a largely similar roster next season should they so choose. And while some may disagree with that course of action, on paper, Toronto should still be one of the NHL’s top teams next season even with a few familiar faces departing for new destinations.

While the media headlines might all be about Dubas’ ousting over the past few weeks, once the season gets going, the new coach will have a far greater impact on the Leafs’ players on a game-to-game basis, as players have typically have far less contact with their general manager on a day-to-day basis than they would a coach.

Toronto’s faced a series of decisions they “can’t get wrong” before, but their new general manager just might be facing one of those calls right off the hop by deciding if they’ll stick with Keefe or not.

Adam LaskarisAdam Laskaris

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