The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe after yet another early postseason exit, general manager Brad Treliving announced on Thursday.
“Today’s decision was difficult. Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man; however, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal,” the general manager explained in the official release. “We thank Sheldon for his hard work and dedication to the organization over the last nine years, and wish him and his family all the very best.”
Keefe was certainly on the hot seat after the Leafs failed to get out of the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs yet again. The team remains with a single playoff series win since 2004, which came against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.
Keefe was fired one year after he was given a two-year contract extension by Treliving. That extension wasn't supposed to kick in until next season. The 43-year-old will finish in Toronto at 212-97-40 over 349 regular-season games, helping the team record three consecutive 100-point campaigns, including a team-record 115-point year in 2021-22, per the release.
After coaching the Toronto Marlies for five seasons — and winning a Calder Cup championship in 2018 — Keefe failed to replicate his American Hockey League success at the NHL level. Still, he did have success over his nine full seasons within the Maple Leafs organization.
The search will now begin in earnest for a new head coach, with no guarantee that any of the remainder of the coaching staff beyond Keefe will be safe this summer.
Sheldon Keefe failed to deliver when it counted in Toronto
Despite impressive regular-season success, Keefe was unable to take an ultra-talented roster out of the Atlantic Division. He was behind the bench for a qualifying round loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2018, a seven-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 2019 and another Game 7 defeat to the Lightning the next year.
In 2021, Keefe finally led the team over the hump — and to their first playoff series win since 2004 — with a little revenge against the Bolts. But it was followed up by a disappointing five-game loss to the Florida Panthers, who marched all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
And this year, it was much of the same. A great regular-season, and a hard-fought first-round exit. This time, it again came to the Boston Bruins in a Game 7, although that was Keefe's first matchup against the Original Six rivals.
Still, it's a results-based business, and the bench boss didn't do enough to keep his job.
“We’re in the results business here and we didn’t get results,” Keefe said on Monday in his final news conference as Toronto's head coach. “We haven’t met expectations. And as a head coach, I take responsibility for that.”
Sheldon Keefe is not the only person responsible, but change was inevitable after even more playoff futility. It'll be interesting to see who takes over behind the bench in Toronto, and whether a few roster players will be following the coach out the door.
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