We have a short fuse in Toronto. The Maple Leafs may not be dominant like the Boston Bruins or Vegas Golden Knights, but they’re not in the cellar of the standings like the Edmonton Oilers.
However, there are some in the Toronto media this week demanding the head of coach Sheldon Keefe, a popular activity in the Queen City in recent years.
“Mike Babcock was fired during the week of Gray Cup festivities in 2019 because the Maple Leafs had no structure, no identity, were getting scored too easily, couldn’t resist on the penalty kill and didn’t “were not making the right decisions without the puck,” Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun wrote this week.
“Grey Cup festivities begin next week in Hamilton. A coaching dismissal is not necessarily imminent, but the current team has no structure, no identity, gets marked too easily, does not resist when outnumbered and cannot make the right decisions without the puck,” the columnist continues.
The Montreal market is often described as fierce. How could it compare to Toronto, where it took a 6-3 loss to Ottawa, in a Battle of Ontario game, to spark the murmurings? The Maple Leafs, after all, are 6-5-2 and sit just two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for third place in the Atlantic Division with one more game remaining.
Oddly enough, there is very little talk about the work of new general manager Brad Treliving, who left the Calgary Flames in a sorry state. It’s always difficult to know who has the final say with an omnipotent president like Brendan Shanahan around. But this duo’s summer acquisitions are of no help so far.
The Maple Leafs had the best power play success rate last year after the Edmonton Oilers, with a percentage of 26%. However, we hired a specialist in numerical superiority, defender John Klingberg, who was extraordinarily vulnerable on defense.
Klingberg has five assists in thirteen games and a -8 record, by far the worst among his club’s defensemen. Sheldon Keefe talked about better protecting Klingberg this week. A message to his bosses? If the combinations in practice on Thursday were anything to go by, Klingberg could be scratched from the lineup Friday against the Flames. It’s hitting 4.1 million this year, thankfully for only one year.
A colleague deplored Max Domi’s lack of understanding of the game last week. “Domi seems to have unlearned how to play,” wrote the colleague. If only he had seen him play in Montreal, he would not have had such a surprise. Domi has six assists in thirteen games. He gets 3 million, for only one year too, fortunately.
Tyler Bertuzzi, also hired for just one season, but at an annual salary of 5.5 million, did even worse offensively with only four points in thirteen games even though he played with gifted partners.
What about colossus Ryan Reaves? An extraordinary interlocutor in the locker room for journalists, but a weak contributor on the ice, even in his chosen field. The Maple Leafs allowed nine goals at five-on-five with this tough guy on the ice and scored none. Reaves, 36, makes just $1.35 million per season, but he was given a three-year contract.
The season is still very young and we have to be patient in Toronto, but Sheldon Keefe should not pay for the bad decisions of his bosses.
We didn’t think they’d go this far, but the Oilers, already dismal this season, found a way to lose 3-2 to the poor San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. They are tied for last place overall with San Jose.
You think you can read coach Jay Woodcroft’s lips after the game: “This might be the end,” he told his assistant coach Dave Manson. He replied: “Indeed…”. Stay tuned.
1- Nice 3-2 victory for the Canadian Thursday night in Detroit thanks to another goal from Cole Caufield in overtime. Richard Labbé was there.
2- Nicholas Richard talks with the great speed skater Laurent Dubreuil.
3- The venerable doctor David Mulder, employed by the Canadian for 60 years, pleads for the abolition of fighting in hockey. Guillaume Lefrançois takes stock.
