Tag: Sheldon Keefe

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Potential goaltending crisis for the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have a potential goaltending crisis on their hands, one that appears to be of their own making.

On Friday, the Maple Leafs announced that they would be sending goaltender Joseph Woll back down to the American Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies, a move that was announced in conjunction with the callup of veteran forward Wayne Simmonds.

There is a belief that the move was made out of a desire to give the aging veteran in Simmonds one final game in front of the hometown Toronto crowd, a feel good idea to be sure. Unfortunately it may be one that has left the Leafs in somewhat of a pickle on Saturday.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has now confirmed that the plan was originally to have Matt Murray serve as backup for goaltender Ilya Samsonov tonight, a plan that may be in jeopardy due to Murray’s injury status. Not only did Keefe confirm that Murray’s status for tonight was now a question mark, but he also added that he was unsure of what the Leafs would do in the event of Murray being unable to play.

This is certainly a less than ideal situation for the Maple Leafs, and we will have to wait and see how it all plays out as the day wears on.

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Mitch Marner not happy about Sheldon Keefe’s decision

Bet MGM

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs on deck for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their opponent already known, you can bet that head coach Sheldon Keefe is going to do everything possible to make sure that his lineup is fully healthy later this month when perhaps the most critical series in their organization’s recent history finally gets underway. 

And to that end, he’s practicing a bit of what has become known as “load management” within the circles of the NBA. And it was forward Mitch Marner who was not in action against the visiting Detroit Red Wings, which would ultimately turn out to the a 5-2 victory for them. 

And while Marner appears to understand the decision, it doesn’t mean that he had to like it. Based on his comments, he sure didn’t appear to agree with it. 

“It sucks… sometimes we got people in here that do all the stats and all the stuff, that I guess, that’s what they’re paid for and (they) make sure that we’re trying to look at a bigger picture,” Marner said of being sat on Sunday night. “Definitely a tough one, but there’s bigger things.”

Marner was ultimately joined in the press box by teammates Mark Giordano and Jake McCabe, both of whom were also rested for Sunday’s game by Keefe. 

With 28 goals and 67 assists, Marner is only five points away from eclipsing the century mark, which would be a career first for him should be be able to accomplish the feat in Toronto’s five remaining regular season games. Meanwhile, he’s only two points away from tying his career high of 97 points that was set last year.

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Zach Aston-Reese reaches new career high with Leafs

NHL.com

The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting the most out of forward Zach Aston-Reese, who first arrived at training camp last fall on a professional tryout. And while he’s occasionally been made a healthy scratch, he’s made his return to the lineup matter.

During last night’s game against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, he tallied his career high 10th goal in what would eventually be a 4-2 triumph for the Leafs. And you can bet that he was feeling good about being a contributor afterward.

“It’s pretty special,” he explained in his postgame presser. “It was a long summer not knowing what was going to happen. I always believed in myself and it’s nice to be in a place that believes in me.”

“I know they want me to be physical and finishing checks, and it doesn’t have to be blowing up guys every night. It’s just being stiff and aggressive on the puck,” he continued.

Meanwhile, head coach Sheldon Keefe was full of praise for how Aston-Reese has handled himself in the last couple of weeks.

“I would say it has been more than a couple of weeks,” Keefe said. “He has been excellent, I would say, from the trade deadline and maybe even a week or two before the trade deadline. He has really settled in. He has played a lot of time with Kampf. The guys have really had some great chemistry. They are talking a lot. They know what the expectation is and what we need from them. He has scored some good goals for us which has got his confidence going offensively. He is scoring the right kind of goals for a guy like him.”

“He is not getting odd-man rushes or anything like this. He is working for it. He is around the net, whether it is pucks hitting him, him tipping it, or finding pucks in the slot.”

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Sheldon Keefe gives update on Matt Murray

TSN

The Toronto Maple Leafs not only lost what would have been an extremely valuable two points in their quest for home ice in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs during last night’s game against the Original 6 rival Detroit Red Wings, but also lost goaltender Matt Murray to yet another injury. 

The latest setback for Murray was a freak accident that took place during the 1st period, as Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond blew a tire and slid accidentally into Murray, flipping him onto his back and also hitting his head on the ice. Murray left the game and was replaced by Ilya Samsonov.

As far as an update on Murray’s current status, head coach Sheldon Keefe said that fans can expect one as soon as tomorrow.

“I have no update,” he said talking about this morning. “We will get you for you probably on Tuesday.”

Murray struck the back of his head on the ice; was he removed from the game by a concussion spotter? 

“I am not exactly sure, “Keefe answered. “I was told it was mandatory that he had to come off of the ice.”

In the meantime, the Leafs are dealing with the harsh reality of the fact that Murray is simply an injury prone player at this point in his career, even thought this latest incident was out of his hands. 

“I don’t know,” Keefe said when asked what was going through his mind. “It was in the hands of the trainers. They’ll deal with it. He’ll bounce back, and Sammy will go.” 

The Leafs are back in action tomorrow night in what will be an extremely winnable game against the hapless Columbus Blue Jackets at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto. Game time is set for 7:00 PM EST. 

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Sheldon Keefe slams NHL officials for their treatment of Michael Bunting.

John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs are very unhappy with how one of their player’s in particular has been treated by National Hockey League officials on the ice, and it seems they are finally speaking out about it.

After falling to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, in what was a meaningless game for a Maple Leafs team that has already locked in their first round Stanley Cup playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it would be after the game that the real drama would unfold.

During the course of the game, the Maple Leafs clearly felt that Michael Bunting was targeted by the officials, including being called for a penalty after he was on the receiving end of multiple cross-checks to the back.

That wouldn’t be the only incident that the Maple Leafs took issue with during the night, with head coach Sheldon Keefe also clearly disagreeing with a 10 minute misconduct that was awarded to Bunting later during the same game.

Following the game the Maple Leafs head coach spoke to the media and made it crystal clear how he felt about the officiating towards Bunting.

“Surprised? Based on the way that he’s been officiated of late, no not surprised at all,” said an unhappy Sheldon Keefe.

In fact the head coach went one step further and made it clear that the team would be raising the issue with the National Hockey League immediately following the game.

“Kyle [Dubas] will talk to the league,” confirmed Keefe following the game.

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Maple Leafs release update on Erik Gustafsson

Daily Hive

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier today that defenseman Erik Gustafsson is still in the midst of his leave of absence from the team due to an unnamed personal matter. 

For Gustafsson, who was acquired from the Washington Capitals earlier this month in the deal that sent defenseman Rasmus Sandin back to the American capital city, the situation appears to be family related. 

“We’ll just give him the time he needs to until he can get that sorted out with his family,” explained head coach Sheldon Keefe late last week. 

In 69 gams played this season split between the Capitals and Maple Leafs, Gustafsson has scored a total of seven goals with 32 assists along with a +8 rating.

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Michael Bunting sounds off on heated bench exchange with Sheldon Keefe

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were on the winning side of things on Sunday night, taking down the Nashville Predators by a 3-2 final score at Bridgestone Arena in Music City. 

But during the course of the game, cameras captured forward Michael Bunting getting a stern talking-to on the bench from head coach Sheldon Keefe. As you may know, Bunting is one of the most intense players in hockey, and has often let his temper get the better of him.

For this of you who may have missed the exchange, take a look below: 

When asked about the substance of the conversation earlier today, Bunting declined to get into specifics, instead pointing to the fact that he and the Leafs head coach have a good relationship and that Keefe was part of the reason why Bunting wanted to play for his hometown team. 

“I’ll leave that between Keefer and I but what I will say is we have a good relationship,” Bunting explained. “We’ve known each other for a long time. There’s not much to really see there; he’s one of the reasons I signed here. I’ll leave it at that.”

Bunting and the Leafs are back in action tomorrow on home ice at Scotiabank Arena in downtown Toronto when they host the Atlantic Division rival Florida Panthers, whom are scratching and clawing (no pun intended) for one of the final two Wild Card playoff spots in a tightly packed Eastern Conference. Game time is set for 7:30 PM EST. 

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Sheldon Keefe addresses yelling at Michael Bunting

Maple Leafs Hot Stove

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. 

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Maple Leafs explain what went wrong vs. Panthers

The Globe and Mail

The lasting image of last night’s game at Scotiabank Arena between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the visiting Florida Panthers will be Panthers bench boss Paul Maurice absolutely exploding on his squad for what he clearly felt was a lack of effort during a break in the 2nd period.

That seemed to wake up the Panthers, who are scrapping and clawing (no pun) towards securing a playoff spot in the tightly contested Eastern Conference. It would eventually be Brandon Montour playing the role of hero for Florida, scoring in overtime to secure a valuable extra point that was also made possible thanks to a strong 38 save performance from goaltender Alex Lyon. 

Florida now sits just one point out of the final Wild Card postseason spot, while the Leafs have already locked up their postseason reservation.

“Played a good game,” Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said afterward in his postgame media session. “Didn’t score enough to win and then made some mistakes at the end. Cost us the extra point.”

However, a stat that fans will immediately notice is that the Leafs were unable to score on four separate power play opportunities, which could have proven to be the difference in the game.

“Not great,” said Auston Matthews on being unable to cash in with the man advantage. “Just a little bit disconnected there and maybe over-complicating things at times instead of just keeping it a little more simple and breaking them down at the start and then letting things open up.”

“Rather have it happen now than in the playoffs,” explained Zach Aston-Reese of giving up the lead. “Six-on-four situation, you know it’s going to happen again for sure. Definitely something we can watch the tape and learn from and hopefully down the stretch be a lot better at.”

The Leafs will be back in action when they visit the rival Ottawa Senators in the Canadian capital city on Saturday evening.