Firing Keefe As Maple Leafs Coach Won’t Solve Toronto’s Problems

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ west-coast road trip has not begun well, with the Buds posting a 1-2-0 record after losses to Edmonton and Vancouver and a win over Calgary. The Leafs still have to face tough tests in Seattle and Winnipeg (twice), and it’s entirely possible they go 1-5-0 before the NHL’s all-star break arrives. That would be a worst-case scenario for Toronto management, and there could be significant pressure on GM Brad Treliving to dismiss coach Sheldon Keefe and replace him with a veteran bench boss.

Don’t take this to mean we endorse firing Keefe. He’s been one of the most successful Leafs coaches in recent memory, and he’s had to deal with an injury to his No. 1 goaltender, Joseph Woll. Few coaches in the league could do well if they didn’t have their most important position staffed by their preferred candidate, so blaming Keefe for Toronto’s recent struggles is not fair.

That said, the coaching fraternity is not a fair one. Those who are fortunate enough to land a coaching job in hockey’s top league are often out on their ear in short order. The fact Keefe has the fifth-best tenure (since he took the job in November of 2019) should tell you all you need to know about the coaching carousel. Unless you have a Stanley Cup win to your credit, you’re not going to stay employed over the long term – and even if you did win a Cup, you could be unemployed in short order. Ask former Blues coach Craig Berube about that.

So, what should the Leafs be doing rather than firing Keefe? Well, for starters, Treliving needs to strike quickly on the trade front and beef up his defense corps first and foremost. Toronto’s defense has been well-chronicled to be shaky more often than not, and not even the scoring prowess of Toronto’s core four forwards are producing enough to offset their defensive deficiencies. Adding a veteran like Chris Tanev is a must. The status quo is not an option. If it means paying a high price, so be it. Toronto is built to win now, and the Buds can worry about the future a few years from now.

Adding another experienced goalie may also be a worthwhile move for Treliving. Once Woll returns, the crease will be crowded, but nobody will be eager to acquire Ilya Samsonov, and Martin Jones will be Woll’s understudy. Another goalie could do battle with Jones, but a Woll and Jones tandem might be as good as it gets for the Leafs.

This brings us back to defense. Toronto cannot afford to bring back more or less the same group of blueliners who wilted in the second round of last season’s playoffs. They need more edge, more experience, and more size. If they have to peel away a prospect – say, forward Nick Abruzzese – to land help on defense, that’s just the cause of doing business.

There’s little more Keefe can do as he tries to get the best out of his roster. But that’s no condemnation. A replacement for him would experience the same results with the same group. This is why the pressure is on stars such as Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander; not only do they have to be the engine on offense, but they also have to play well in their own zone and use their speed to their advantage.

Let’s be real – if Toronto doesn’t get beyond Round Two of the playoffs this spring, Keefe will be dismissed early in the summer. Treliving will have his own coach in mind, and another disappointment will be all the reason Treliving needs to move on from Keefe. But there’s still time for him to save his job. All he needs to do now is get the Leafs back into a position where they’re one of the top-five teams in the league. That’s not Mission: Impossible for Keefe, but he needs to make headway sooner rather than later, or he will be joining the unemployment line before too long.