Following the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday, the team has lost four straight games where they held the lead at one point. As the team continues their west coast road trip, there are calls on social media for the club to move on from head coach Sheldon Keefe. But are they warranted?
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the Maple Leafs’ struggles and if Keefe’s job really is in jeopardy.
Tyler Yaremchuk: The Detroit Red Wings bumped the Maple Leafs into an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, and things are staying spicy in Toronto. Keefe was not hiding his disappointment when he spoke to the media in Calgary, here are some of the quotes that stood out:
“Who are we going to rely on in those moments? Who’s going to go out and get the job done? Forty-two games in, I still have a lot of questions about who’s going to get the job done?”
Those are damning quotes, considering they have four players who are soon to be making north of $10 million against the cap. How can you have that much star-power? Is this a coach who is starting to feel the pressure?
Frank Seravalli: I think he’s hearing it and understands this team has gotten average results. They’re on track for 99 points, and maybe you can make the argument that this isn’t on Keefe, it’s on the roster construction of this team and the poor defensive core.
But let’s park that for a second. You mentioned the pressure, and to me, those comments at this exact juncture, knowing people are calling for his job, that was Keefe, in my view, pushing back publicly, saying “This isn’t on me, it’s on the players.” I think the real answer is somewhere in the middle, where there probably are some structure issues and the commitment to playing defensively.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode…
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