Should Sheldon Keefe's position be under threat?

While the 2021-22 season is Sheldon Keefe's first full run as Maple Leafs head coach, he has now overseen three-straight postseason exits at the first hurdle. Are there enough reasons to question Keefe's position on the bench and who would replace him if Toronto's front office took such a decision.

Video Transcript

- Do you go for trots? I forgot when the lease extended Keefe, but I think it was recent. Now this was Keefe's first full season with the team, even though he was hired I think November of 2019. So he got the rest of that season but it was broken up, because of the shutdown and then the bubble came back and then there's a half season. So he's been coaching the team for like 2 and 1/2 seasons. Again, this is the first full one.

Is there enough-- so I guess we were having the conversation about running it back, do you also run back the coaching staff too? I think the assistant coaches you keep, I think the special teams are solid. I don't know. I don't know if he fired Keefe, I don't-- I don't know. I don't know.

I think maybe you extended the run it back to the coaching staff as well, because say you fire Keefe and you hire Barry Trotz, like I'm assuming that Trotz will have his people that he want to bring on. And another thing as well is that Trotz is more of a defensive minded dude as far as the coaching style goes. So if you hire Barry Trotz and keep him on, does that like negate the offensive aspects of the Leafs team?

Granted, I did spend the first chunk of this complaining about how they're kind of going for too many like highlight reel plays and stuff. But I don't know, I don't know if there's a fit. I don't know if the players on the team fit that style, you know? I don't know if it was a fit there. So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if when it comes down and running it back if like everyone is including the coaching staff and stuff.

But hey, I could be completely wrong, so sometimes teams just feel like they have to do whatever they want to do, wherever they have to do. And when it comes to desperation, like again, this least organization, man. Like desperation has been amplified again.

If you're going to fire Keefe then ask what did you do wrong. And that's a great question because I can't-- like with Babcock, there was a list a list of things that he did that I was like, no, no, like these are fireable offenses, man. But for Keefe like if they were to do that, it would definitely would come across as change for the sake of change. Because overall, I don't see any issue with this coaching style. I mean, he adopted, he started playing Matthews more, starting him in the game, getting him in different opportunities, mixing the lineups a little bit

I think, again, the team itself, as far as like all team play for the entire season, I think this is the best the team has been defensively. Offensive has been solid, again, Powerplay was great, penalty kill was sick. Like the only, I guess, critiques I would have with Keefe personally is the trust in whole, which I get. I understand it.

But beside it-- but that's just like a personal thing, but besides that like there's nothing I can kind of say like. Ah, you know what? Maybe you should be fired for that. And then again, at the same time you could also just say like, well, you know he's also-- he's been behind the bench for three series eliminations. Again, Columbus wasn't the playoffs, but still it was a series. But yeah, I don't know.

I don't think there's one thing that-- if it was one even a couple of things, for me, that I can say like, because of this, this, and this like I think the Leafs should part ways with Keefe-- I haven't been able to-- I haven't seen it. I have not seen it. So yeah, that's a really good point.