The Toronto Maple Leafs fired head coach Sheldon Keefe days after the team lost its First Round series to the Boston Bruins in seven games.
“Today’s decision was difficult,” Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said in a statement. “Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man; However, we determined that a new voice is needed to help the team move forward and achieve our ultimate goal. We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the past nine years and wish him and his family all the best.”
Keefe took over as Maple Leafs head coach in November 2019 when he replaced Mike Babcock. In parts of five seasons he led the team to a record of 212-97-40, including three consecutive 100-point seasons.
While the team experienced success in the regular season under Keefe, it was in the postseason where they fell short.
The Maple Leafs’ First Round woes have long been documented, with the franchise only advancing to the Second Round once since 2004. That time, 2022-23, came with Keefe in charge. But three First Round exits, all in seven games, plus a qualifying round loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs increased the pressure on management to make a change.
Keefe’s two-year contract extension, which he signed last summer following the hiring of general manager Brad Treliving, has not yet taken effect.
The Maple Leafs are tied for the longest active playoff streak in the NHL at eight seasons, but seven of those eight seasons have seen them exit the playoffs in the First Round. After losing 3-1 to the Bruins and forcing a seventh game, they fell 2-1 in overtime in the deciding game.
Another first-round loss meant changes were coming, and likely starting with the head coach.
“We’re in the results business here,” Keefe said after Monday’s Game 7 loss to the Bruins. “We didn’t get results. We didn’t meet expectations. As a head coach, I take responsibility for that… My job as a head coach is to find solutions and chart a path forward for the group to move forward and be successful. In the most important time of the year we have not done that.
Treliving will now be able to hire his own head coach after inheriting Keefe from previous general manager Kyle Dubas.
Keefe was a first-time NHL head coach when he was hired. If Treliving is looking for experience at the position, he can look to names like Craig Berube, who won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019; Gerard Gallant, who has coached 17 seasons in the NHL with four teams; and Todd McLellan, who was most recently behind the Los Angeles Kings bench and has 19 seasons of coaching experience in the league.
If a fresh face is the path the Maple Leafs want to take again, the University of Denver’s David Carle has led the Pioneers to two of the last three NCAA men’s titles and guided the U.S. men’s junior national team. to gold at the World Junior Championships in January.
