By now, you’ve heard about the minor incident on the Leafs bench during Sunday’s 3-2 victory the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. The Leafs head coach tapped forward Michael Bunting on the shoulder and barked orders at him, while Bunting didn’t appear overly interested in hearing what Keefe had to say.
However, Bunting has declined to comment exactly on what Keefe was saying, and said that there’s no issue with their relationship that is several years old.
“I’ll leave that between Keefer and I. But what I will say is, Keefer and I have a good relationship. We’ve known each other for a very long time. And, yeah, there’s not really much to see there,” Bunting said. “He’s one of the reasons I came to Toronto, so, yeah, we’ll leave it at that.
“He knows, obviously, how to coach me and knows how I am and what kind of player I am. So, I wouldn’t really look much into that. And, yeah, just another day.”
And now, Keefe is telling his side of things. Based on his comments, there isn’t any underlying issue that Leafs fans should be concerned about going into the postseason.
“Bunts and I do have a relationship that goes far beyond here. But that’s not anything I focus on and think about. It’s a non-issue for me,” Keefe said of their interaction.
“I give players a lot of leeway and a pass essentially, especially for those that come right off the ice. For me to expect a player coming right from the heat of the battle to sit on the bench and be a true gentleman when I want to go talk to him, I’m putting myself at risk in going into that situation. A non-issue for me. I think he got the message. I know that he hears me.”
It sounds as though there’s no cause for alarm in Leafs land with this particular situation.
