Getty Sheldon Keefe
The Toronto Maple Leafs are nearly a lock to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eighth consecutive season when all is said and done in less than a month, with MoneyPuck giving them a 99.99% chance of clinching a postseason berth.
This will be the fifth time in four years (and a half, as he was hired mid-season in 2020) that head coach Sheldon Keefe has lifted the franchise to such heights, even though the Leafs have yet to make it past the second round under Keefe.
And judging by Tuesday’s depressive 6-3 loss against the lowly New Jersey Devils they might not make the proverbial jump over the hump in this year’s playoffs.
Head coach Keefe didn’t mince words in his postgame press conference, one that will probably serve as a wake-up call to many of his players if not all of them.
“I thought we just overdid it,” Keefe told reporters on March 26 after the loss to the Devils. “It was just really immature, all the way through our game.
”I thought it was immature from our most experienced players, our leaders.”
Keefe didn’t stop at blaming the team as a whole and mentioning the Maple Leafs’ “experienced players” and “leaders,” far from it. He named names and pointed fingers toward a few superstars making it very clear who he was referring to.
“John Tavares has been the example for us—he’s been outstanding for us for a long period of time,” Keefe said. “He himself got carried away tonight. That’s our captain, so if that’s going to happen… well, the rest of our bench is just making it up as we go.”
Tavares wasn’t made available to the media after the game so he couldn’t comment on Keefe’s statements.
Sheldon Keefe was Ruthlees During Postgame Rant
Keefe kept on going, calling out offensive wingers Pontus Holmberg and Matthew Knies without naming them but referencing two particular plays involving them.
“(New Jersey Devils forward) Jack Hughes gets two breakaways,” Keefe told reporters. “You’re not winning the game if that’s going to be the case.
“Hated lots about our game tonight. Hopefully, the players hated it just as much or more than I do,” he continued.
Speaking about the “leaders” of the team, those being forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander (each scored a goal on Tuesday’s matchup, back-to-back, putting Toronto on top 3-2 in the second period after trailing 1-2 entering the frame), Keefe said, ”They’ve got to be the example.”
“We made lots of mistakes here today,” Keefe added before calling out another of his players individually. “The first period—Bobby McMann gives up a two-on-one, doesn’t do his job there.”
Keefe didn’t stop there, calling the team “incredibly sloppy and careless,” adding the result was “disappointing,” and simply stating, “We haven’t played that way for quite some time. I thought our guys got a little too excited and carried away.”
Maple Leafs Should Improve Heading Into the Playoffs
The coach had a few words for his goaltender on the evening, Joseph Woll, who let five pucks go past him on 24 shots to wrap up the loss with a putrid .791 save percentage. No need to mention (because Keefe already did), Woll let the first shot he saw in.
“You can’t let in the first shot of the game,” Keefe said. “That is two in a row now. But the chances we gave up tonight were egregious. There are lots of issues in front of him.”
The Leafs haven’t won more than two consecutive games since they put up a seven-game winning streak from mid to late February. That being said, they haven’t lost more than two straight either, alternating two-game winning and losing streaks from March 9 through March 26.
As things stand, Toronto is the third-best team in the Atlantic Division having 89 points in 71 games. The Maple Leafs should not have a problem holding onto that place, as they lead the Tampa Bay Lightning by four points, let alone dropping outside of the postseason picture.
The Washington Capitals follow the Lightning as the second wild-card seed but the Caps have a much lower 81 points and the next team in the read, the Detroit Red Wings, have just 79 points and one more game played through Tuesday’s slate.
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