Thanks Coach. It’s clear you’re a fantastic human being. You were likeable and honest. We will miss you.
Clugaman
There’s going to be a lot of stupid people saying a lot of stupid things about this.
Keefe is a great coach. He gave us everything and really propelled us to the next step after Babcock. We just need someone else to take us even further.
Thanks for everything Keefe, it won’t go unnoticed even if it seems like it does because of these jokers.
georgie336
Thanks Keefe! I get there’s a lot of hating on him at the moment, but I think he was/is a good coach. The Leafs do need a new one – cause sometimes things just run its course.
That first half season where we played the crazy possession style hockey was interesting – wish we saw more of that. Also his work with having the 3F come super high in the O-Zone is now adopted by a few teams in the league.
espher
I’m not as down on him as most people here were, but the absolute latest time they should have waited to move on was the end of the 2022-2023 season. Whether he was good at his job or not, the team wasn’t performing when they needed to, and sometimes you just need change.
This past season and next season were imo absolute write-offs (cemented by the past off-season) but it sure would have been nice to at least have a new coach for this one.
TorturedFanClub
Keefe was alright in my books. Probably shoulda been shown the door last off season though, not extended. Leafs mgmt is just dumb. The guy deciding to “run it back” with the same shit every year should be fired.
Steakholder__
Thanks Sheldon!
CantOfSoup
I think he’ll have a good career, very young for a coach, and while there’s plenty of things to criticize I think he’ll get better with more experience
happysnack
Long overdue but was the change of pace we needed post Babcock. Shoulda fired him after Montreal.
Repulsive_Response99
Was good but had to be done.
ukie7
Keefe, you’ll always be the guy behind the bench in memory against that excellent Tampa team. Thank you
TheDeadReagans
I wrote this in a previous thread, I’ll just copy and paste it here. I liked Keefe a lot but I acknowledge his time was at an end:
Okay, so here’s where I give Keefe some credit coaching wise:
– He completely changed the style of play after Game 4. He started running a 1-3-1 passive neutral zone scheme reminiscent of Barry Trotz’s system in New York and it worked. Part of this was out of pure desperation but it did work. This is very much the antithesis of how the Leafs like to play. They usually play a 1-1-3 or 1-2-2 forecheck. – He basically made the Leafs defense corps play like a bunch of hockey terrorists, again, akin to that of Barry Trotz’s Islanders team.
Here’s where I have to take credit away though:
– We’ve scored 2 or less goals in 12 of the last 13 playoff games under him. This team is built to win on offense and the offense simply did not show up again. This team scored 303 goals in the regular season, that was second only to Colorado’s 304. Colorado and Edmonton won their first round series largely on the strength of their offense. We had to change our identity into The Barry Trotz Islanders in Game 5 to win which is decidedly not a sustainable way of playing in the playoffs. You can’t win every game 6-4 but winning every games 2-1 is equally as unsustainable. – There’s definitely a motivational issue with him. It might not even be his fault but recall the Amazon Documentary where he’s talking to the team one night randomly while they’re in the midst of running away with the division and reaming them out for not playing a playoff style of play. – Powerplay. ‘Nuff said. – He was outcoached by John Tortorella. I know people think he’s a good coach, he actually isn’t. He’s average. Cup Finals 12 years ago. Two series wins since then. – Even more damning, he was outcoached by Dom Ducharme who led the following year’s Habs into being the worst team of the lockout era. I’ve heard from Habs fans and blogs though that during that playoff run, Weber and Price decided to tune out Ducharme, take the reigns and coach the Habs themselves. So if you want, he was outcoached by Weber and Price.
I think his players let him down more than anything, namely Marner but it’s time for him to go to. His final post game press conference was one of frustration over his team, I think this quote says it all “When teams play the Leafs they set up the game in order for the Leafs to beat themselves.”
Here’s a bit of nuance on his tenure here overall.
I think he’s an excellent coach that lost the room at some point but the team continued to be good due to talent alone and kept losing playoff series in Game 7s which kept them tantalizing enough to keep. A lot of the things people criticize him for, he actually fixed.
I often read people criticize him for being rigid, nothing can be further from the truth. Under Keefe, the Leafs changed their offensive strategy 4 different times over 5 years. Remember when he first took over the team, the Leafs had this unique style of play where they rarely dumped it in and would look for zone entries exclusively? If they didn’t have them, they’d circle back to keep possession. They stopped doing that after the Montreal series. Now they only do the circle back move to look for better breakouts. Then wound up becoming one of the better dump and chase teams in the league after that.
Keefe has used a 1-1-3, 1-2-2 and 2-1-2 forecheck – this is what Tortorella uses, while in Toronto with varying degrees of success. The 2-1-2 was tried after the Montreal series and the 7-1 blowout to the Penguins made him switch to a 1-1-3 – this is what the Islanders and Stars liked to use at the time. Finally the following season he began switching between a 1-1-3 and a 1-2-2 forecheck. In this playoff series, he actually made us play a 1-3-1 passive trap and it was actually effective. He was a very flexible coach, I’ll always appreciate that in him.
Secondly, I think he’ll unfortunately be forgotten for this one but he’s the guy that brought in the 3-2 offensive zone cycle into the league. Colorado copied it and wound up winning the Cup with it and now every team runs a variation of it while on the cycle. Without getting into the details, the 3-2 offensive zone cycle, cycles a forward into the middle of the blue line to act as a third d-man. The game that really made me notice it was a random game in 2019 vs the Canucks. The Leafs ran that formation out and it generated a high danger chance every single time and yielded 1 goal. The Canucks genuinely had no idea how to defend it and kept getting burned by it.
So all that said, I appreciate him more than most and I think the team’s issues go a lot deeper than Keefe but he was PART of the problem. He was never THE problem, but one of them and for that it’s time to move on.
EasternSasquatch
I remember when he was hired, what a day that was.
It’s definitely a weird departure- sure he was an alright coach but lord was he not an amazing coach. I hope he does well in the future, all the past years aside.
Chtholly13
I applaud you for at least getting this team to buy in defensively, I think you were the only recent coach who was able to do that.
123jazzhandz321
Keefe is an outstanding defensive coach, I’ll miss him in that regard. But the offence was so stagnant under him, and the assistants that were hired also were suboptimal. The only good assistant coach that was under Keefe was Carbery, and he lead the powerplay to a respectable number last playoffs. Either way, it was time for a change, he’ll always have the distinction of being the greatest regular season coach in Leaf history.
ultralightb3am
I like him as a human and I don’t think he is a bad coach per say, just not the right one for us right now
reluctantLeaf
He’s the best coach the Leafs have had since Pat Quinn, in almost 20 years. That alone gets my respect. Hope he sticks around the league.
Sarge1387
Keefe was a great person, and he’s a good coach. Always open an honest, and I’d HEARD he’d always have a minute or two for fans. He’ll land on his feet. NJ might be a really good fit for him
So_METAl_9
Hey, the Raptors fired their head coach shortly after winning the Coach of the Year. “What got us here, won’t get us there.” But sometimes it’s a necessary step in the process.
Thanks for your contributions Coach Keefe. Cheers.
And Cheers to Brad for making the correct call, no matter how much it sucks to have to do it.
Over to you players. Puck’s in your court now.
lou_reed_ketamine
I’ll never forget how much fun the players seemed to be having after he got hired. He was the right coach for this team at the time.
Thanks for everything Sheldon.
The-Only-Razor
He’ll make a great assistant coach somewhere. He’ll make a fine head coach in 5 years. But his tenure here started too fast and ended too late.
DiscussionFine6197
He’ll go elsewhere away from TO and do great. He did great here with what he had to work with. It had to be done but he won’t be unemployed long. His record more than proves he can coach. I think maybe he just lost some of his key players. And let’s be honest, there are many more problems than Mr Keefe. This should only be the start.
One_Yogurt_8987
If all they need is a coaching change this team could be great next year without any changes. Whether or not they run it back with a different coach I think we’ve all seen the strategy not working in key moments.
alexsharke
He was the best coach we’ve had in the last decade. For his first NHL stint he wasn’t terrible. I remember after Babcock was dumped and Keefe was brought in I was super pumped because of his run with the Marlies. I wish him all the best.
jcanada22
Keef is mediocre but is also the scapegoat for ridiculously bad upper management who continues to fire everyone but themselves. Bunch of losers with acceptance of loser mentality.
witwar101
Good luck in Pittsburgh Sheldon!!
KossyTakos
🫡🫡🫡 Thank you coach! Good luck
Beavie_
Thanks for leading the Marlies to the Calder, and you did your best with what you had, but changes need to be made. More should happen soon, but this is a start. Good luck your next landing spot.
GracefulShutdown
Thank you for winning in the regular season, I guess?
HeyMarty10thalready
He’s a good man. And thorough
stellosartois
Great now get rid of Shanahan.
SweatyShib
This subreddit switched up REAL quick on Keefe
FX29
Have nothing personal against Keefe. His time was up and the way he was speaking on Monday we all knew this was the end. Best of luck for him he’ll be back in the NHL very quickly.
OldPollution7225
Sometimes marriages just don’t work out. It was time to move on, but I think wherever Sheldon lands next that team is getting a real good coach.
Blue_KikiT92
NGL, I’m going to miss him. He’s a nice man and a good coach and I wish him well (except if he gets to play against us). It was time to part ways, but I’m a bit sad today.
stellosartois
Couple of years too late. Should’ve got fired after the montreal series.
RuchW
Thanks coach, sucks that this fanbase turned so toxic towards him. Hope he bounces back and finds success in his next gig
Odd-Door-2553
Everyone in a job has their time, and unfortunately his is over.
No hard feelings. No hot takes. Just thanks coach. And good luck.
Similar-Jellyfish499
He’ll win with players who don’t mentally buckle when the pressure gets high
kdawg416
Thank you Keefe. I think you lost the room, but you will be remembered as the coach that helped us break the round 1 curse
Super_Sandro23
CHIEF KEEFE 🫡
2ray1344
Thanks Coach. Glad you did not waste a few years of some guys primes by being out coached in the playoffs and tossing seasons down the tubes. Enjoy your relief of not having to live up to crazy expectations and enjoy your cup as an assistant or HC on another club. If you ever feel bad or depressed, please log into your checking/savings account and read the numbers you see aloud and smile knowing that regular season success was good enough in Toronto.
swagginpoon
Bittersweet seeing him go. Thanks Keefer.
JohnYCanuckEsq
I don’t think Keefe gets enough credit for overcoming the abuse he endured as a youth. I admire him for moving past that and becoming someone at the top of his profession.
43 Comments
Thanks Coach. It’s clear you’re a fantastic human being. You were likeable and honest. We will miss you.
There’s going to be a lot of stupid people saying a lot of stupid things about this.
Keefe is a great coach. He gave us everything and really propelled us to the next step after Babcock. We just need someone else to take us even further.
Thanks for everything Keefe, it won’t go unnoticed even if it seems like it does because of these jokers.
Thanks Keefe! I get there’s a lot of hating on him at the moment, but I think he was/is a good coach. The Leafs do need a new one – cause sometimes things just run its course.
That first half season where we played the crazy possession style hockey was interesting – wish we saw more of that.
Also his work with having the 3F come super high in the O-Zone is now adopted by a few teams in the league.
I’m not as down on him as most people here were, but the absolute latest time they should have waited to move on was the end of the 2022-2023 season. Whether he was good at his job or not, the team wasn’t performing when they needed to, and sometimes you just need change.
This past season and next season were imo absolute write-offs (cemented by the past off-season) but it sure would have been nice to at least have a new coach for this one.
Keefe was alright in my books. Probably shoulda been shown the door last off season though, not extended. Leafs mgmt is just dumb. The guy deciding to “run it back” with the same shit every year should be fired.
Thanks Sheldon!
I think he’ll have a good career, very young for a coach, and while there’s plenty of things to criticize I think he’ll get better with more experience
Long overdue but was the change of pace we needed post Babcock. Shoulda fired him after Montreal.
Was good but had to be done.
Keefe, you’ll always be the guy behind the bench in memory against that excellent Tampa team. Thank you
I wrote this in a previous thread, I’ll just copy and paste it here. I liked Keefe a lot but I acknowledge his time was at an end:
Okay, so here’s where I give Keefe some credit coaching wise:
– He completely changed the style of play after Game 4. He started running a 1-3-1 passive neutral zone scheme reminiscent of Barry Trotz’s system in New York and it worked. Part of this was out of pure desperation but it did work. This is very much the antithesis of how the Leafs like to play. They usually play a 1-1-3 or 1-2-2 forecheck.
– He basically made the Leafs defense corps play like a bunch of hockey terrorists, again, akin to that of Barry Trotz’s Islanders team.
Here’s where I have to take credit away though:
– We’ve scored 2 or less goals in 12 of the last 13 playoff games under him. This team is built to win on offense and the offense simply did not show up again. This team scored 303 goals in the regular season, that was second only to Colorado’s 304. Colorado and Edmonton won their first round series largely on the strength of their offense. We had to change our identity into The Barry Trotz Islanders in Game 5 to win which is decidedly not a sustainable way of playing in the playoffs. You can’t win every game 6-4 but winning every games 2-1 is equally as unsustainable.
– There’s definitely a motivational issue with him. It might not even be his fault but recall the Amazon Documentary where he’s talking to the team one night randomly while they’re in the midst of running away with the division and reaming them out for not playing a playoff style of play.
– Powerplay. ‘Nuff said.
– He was outcoached by John Tortorella. I know people think he’s a good coach, he actually isn’t. He’s average. Cup Finals 12 years ago. Two series wins since then.
– Even more damning, he was outcoached by Dom Ducharme who led the following year’s Habs into being the worst team of the lockout era. I’ve heard from Habs fans and blogs though that during that playoff run, Weber and Price decided to tune out Ducharme, take the reigns and coach the Habs themselves. So if you want, he was outcoached by Weber and Price.
I think his players let him down more than anything, namely Marner but it’s time for him to go to. His final post game press conference was one of frustration over his team, I think this quote says it all “When teams play the Leafs they set up the game in order for the Leafs to beat themselves.”
Here’s a bit of nuance on his tenure here overall.
I think he’s an excellent coach that lost the room at some point but the team continued to be good due to talent alone and kept losing playoff series in Game 7s which kept them tantalizing enough to keep. A lot of the things people criticize him for, he actually fixed.
I often read people criticize him for being rigid, nothing can be further from the truth. Under Keefe, the Leafs changed their offensive strategy 4 different times over 5 years. Remember when he first took over the team, the Leafs had this unique style of play where they rarely dumped it in and would look for zone entries exclusively? If they didn’t have them, they’d circle back to keep possession. They stopped doing that after the Montreal series. Now they only do the circle back move to look for better breakouts. Then wound up becoming one of the better dump and chase teams in the league after that.
Keefe has used a 1-1-3, 1-2-2 and 2-1-2 forecheck – this is what Tortorella uses, while in Toronto with varying degrees of success. The 2-1-2 was tried after the Montreal series and the 7-1 blowout to the Penguins made him switch to a 1-1-3 – this is what the Islanders and Stars liked to use at the time. Finally the following season he began switching between a 1-1-3 and a 1-2-2 forecheck. In this playoff series, he actually made us play a 1-3-1 passive trap and it was actually effective. He was a very flexible coach, I’ll always appreciate that in him.
Secondly, I think he’ll unfortunately be forgotten for this one but he’s the guy that brought in the 3-2 offensive zone cycle into the league. Colorado copied it and wound up winning the Cup with it and now every team runs a variation of it while on the cycle. Without getting into the details, the 3-2 offensive zone cycle, cycles a forward into the middle of the blue line to act as a third d-man. The game that really made me notice it was a random game in 2019 vs the Canucks. The Leafs ran that formation out and it generated a high danger chance every single time and yielded 1 goal. The Canucks genuinely had no idea how to defend it and kept getting burned by it.
So all that said, I appreciate him more than most and I think the team’s issues go a lot deeper than Keefe but he was PART of the problem. He was never THE problem, but one of them and for that it’s time to move on.
I remember when he was hired, what a day that was.
It’s definitely a weird departure- sure he was an alright coach but lord was he not an amazing coach. I hope he does well in the future, all the past years aside.
I applaud you for at least getting this team to buy in defensively, I think you were the only recent coach who was able to do that.
Keefe is an outstanding defensive coach, I’ll miss him in that regard. But the offence was so stagnant under him, and the assistants that were hired also were suboptimal. The only good assistant coach that was under Keefe was Carbery, and he lead the powerplay to a respectable number last playoffs. Either way, it was time for a change, he’ll always have the distinction of being the greatest regular season coach in Leaf history.
I like him as a human and I don’t think he is a bad coach per say, just not the right one for us right now
He’s the best coach the Leafs have had since Pat Quinn, in almost 20 years. That alone gets my respect. Hope he sticks around the league.
Keefe was a great person, and he’s a good coach. Always open an honest, and I’d HEARD he’d always have a minute or two for fans. He’ll land on his feet. NJ might be a really good fit for him
Hey, the Raptors fired their head coach shortly after winning the Coach of the Year.
“What got us here, won’t get us there.”
But sometimes it’s a necessary step in the process.
Thanks for your contributions Coach Keefe. Cheers.
And Cheers to Brad for making the correct call, no matter how much it sucks to have to do it.
Over to you players. Puck’s in your court now.
I’ll never forget how much fun the players seemed to be having after he got hired. He was the right coach for this team at the time.
Thanks for everything Sheldon.
He’ll make a great assistant coach somewhere. He’ll make a fine head coach in 5 years. But his tenure here started too fast and ended too late.
He’ll go elsewhere away from TO and do great. He did great here with what he had to work with. It had to be done but he won’t be unemployed long. His record more than proves he can coach. I think maybe he just lost some of his key players. And let’s be honest, there are many more problems than Mr Keefe. This should only be the start.
If all they need is a coaching change this team could be great next year without any changes. Whether or not they run it back with a different coach I think we’ve all seen the strategy not working in key moments.
He was the best coach we’ve had in the last decade. For his first NHL stint he wasn’t terrible. I remember after Babcock was dumped and Keefe was brought in I was super pumped because of his run with the Marlies. I wish him all the best.
Keef is mediocre but is also the scapegoat for ridiculously bad upper management who continues to fire everyone but themselves. Bunch of losers with acceptance of loser mentality.
Good luck in Pittsburgh Sheldon!!
🫡🫡🫡 Thank you coach! Good luck
Thanks for leading the Marlies to the Calder, and you did your best with what you had, but changes need to be made. More should happen soon, but this is a start. Good luck your next landing spot.
Thank you for winning in the regular season, I guess?
He’s a good man. And thorough
Great now get rid of Shanahan.
This subreddit switched up REAL quick on Keefe
Have nothing personal against Keefe. His time was up and the way he was speaking on Monday we all knew this was the end. Best of luck for him he’ll be back in the NHL very quickly.
Sometimes marriages just don’t work out. It was time to move on, but I think wherever Sheldon lands next that team is getting a real good coach.
NGL, I’m going to miss him. He’s a nice man and a good coach and I wish him well (except if he gets to play against us). It was time to part ways, but I’m a bit sad today.
Couple of years too late. Should’ve got fired after the montreal series.
Thanks coach, sucks that this fanbase turned so toxic towards him. Hope he bounces back and finds success in his next gig
Everyone in a job has their time, and unfortunately his is over.
No hard feelings. No hot takes. Just thanks coach. And good luck.
He’ll win with players who don’t mentally buckle when the pressure gets high
Thank you Keefe. I think you lost the room, but you will be remembered as the coach that helped us break the round 1 curse
CHIEF KEEFE 🫡
Thanks Coach. Glad you did not waste a few years of some guys primes by being out coached in the playoffs and tossing seasons down the tubes. Enjoy your relief of not having to live up to crazy expectations and enjoy your cup as an assistant or HC on another club. If you ever feel bad or depressed, please log into your checking/savings account and read the numbers you see aloud and smile knowing that regular season success was good enough in Toronto.
Bittersweet seeing him go. Thanks Keefer.
I don’t think Keefe gets enough credit for overcoming the abuse he endured as a youth. I admire him for moving past that and becoming someone at the top of his profession.