[Kloke] Sheldon Keefe: “After 42 games, I still have questions about who I can rely upon.”
Sheldon Keefe: “After 42 games, I still have questions about who I can rely upon.”
— Joshua Kloke (@joshuakloke) January 17, 2024
by 1columbia
@Toronto Maple Leafs
35 Comments
This is a pretty damning quote that makes everyone look bad honestly, especially Keefe himself. He’s pretty much admitting he doesn’t have the answers and evidently neither do the GM and players.
To me this is his way of telling Treliving to get him some help and make a move
So do we Keefe…. So do we
After calling out Tavares, and now the whole team. I wonder how the next couple of weeks play out with Keefe behind the bench.
We do too Sheldon… but our list probably has one name on it that you’re doesn’t lol
You can really see them missing the reliable players who know how to control a lead late in games.
Bourne actually had a good article breaking it down today: [https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/systems-analyst-how-one-oilers-goal-highlighted-maple-leafs-biggest-issues/](https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/systems-analyst-how-one-oilers-goal-highlighted-maple-leafs-biggest-issues/)
And it sort of matches the eye test. With Brodie taking a step back we don’t have the reliable defense we used to, and without guys like Kerfoot (and even Engvall) up front we don’t have the players who just make smart plays with the puck. As frustrating as Engvall’s rush and cycle back was, it was also great for keeping possession when we had a lead.
Domi is fun, but also super reckless with the puck and obviously cannot be trusted. The same can be said for Bertuzzi. They’re both big fans of making hero passes which often result in goals and often result in turnovers. They basically play “three true outcome” baseball in the o-zone where everything ends up with a goal/scoring chance or a turnover.
This is part of the downside to our offseason moves. More firepower in the lineup, but less ability to control the game at a slow pace when the situation calls for it. It’s been exacerbated lately with Tavares slumping, Bertuzzi in a huge funk, and Knies starting to slide a little midway through his rookie year. Matthews and Marner have been good, Nylander is still dangerous, but there’s a lot of guys really struggling and still forcing high-risk plays. Ultimately, it’s up to Keefe to get the most out of the lineup as constructed but there’s also only so much you can do when we only have three truly reliable forwards (Marner, Matthews, Jarnkrok) and two of them are also counted on to generate a bulk of the offense.
Who decided to resign Kampf? Treliving? Shanahan? Keefe? Because he was supposed to be the shutdown guy, 3rd line center that can be relied on. And he hasn’t been good enough.
It’s kinda fair. I don’t understand how EVERY guy except Morgan Rielly, Simon Benoit and maybe Martin Jones are so inconsistent every single night.
I do think that’s partly the coaches responsibility but the team mentality is completely out of wack.
*GlassShatters*
By god, that’s Craig Berube’s music.
Figure it out then, Sheldon. That is legitimately the most important aspect of your job. Know your guys and how to deploy them.
Fuck.
What 42 games of no Holl does to a coach
The guys he used to rely on defensively just aren’t getting it done this year. Kampf and Brodie stand out to be as more or less defensive specialists from prior years who have fallen off hard.
Its not 42 games though, he’s been the coach for 5 years…..like you should have an idea by now, your core hasn’t changed?
I’m good with us losing next game if it means Keefe is done. He has nothing to show for his tenure here. I’m sure he’s a nice guy irl but as a business this is torture for fans
Keefe has his warts, but it’s hard to pin the team’s defensive decline this year entirely on him. A number of good two-way forwards and PKers went out the door, 2 steady d-men left in free agency and 2/6 of the current d-core got older and less reliable.
Then you’re screwed Sheldon. Either you’re so bad at evaluating players that you can’t do the job or the team has collectively quit on you and you can’t do the job.
Isn’t this the 2nd time he’s subtly said to tre in the media that he needs a new guy?
Honestly. Now is the time for Tavares and the “core 4” to step it up. When was the last time any of the leadership guys called for a players-only meeting? Who even is responsible on this team?
Yikes look like he lost the room
Is this really the best system for our leafs group?
Why not just start playing the trap once we are up by 2 or 3?
Bruce, there it is!
After a few seasons now, we know the problem. It’s you buddy. It’s you. You can’t rely on you.
Uh, it’s been 309 games?
Buddy that says more about you and management than it does the players.
Oof
Fire Keefe, yesterday.
He should lose his job over this comment. It’s an admission that he can’t coach this team. This team is not going to gain depth over the coarse of Keefe’s contract. Tavares will keep fading, we will have less cap space next year. We wont have Brodie. He will have to do more with less and he seems to be beyond the pail now.
That’s because you’ve been saddled with two bad GMs who’ve made a mess
It’s gotta be difficult when you’re expected to rely on AHL players like Timothy Liljegren
“I’m losing the room.”
Can’t rely on himself to make good decisions, can’t rely on the stars because they’re all spoiled brats, can’t rely on depth because the GM failed to provide any, can’t rely on prospects because they can’t develop them. Yeah time to just quit this schtick and begin again.
Are we seeing the unravelling of Keefe here? I feel it.
Fucking failure coach doesn’t know shit about his team. Can’t wait until he’s fired.
We can’t rely on you
This is the kind of thing someone says when the decision to can them has already been made but not officially announced and they have nothing left to lose.
Low key reminds me of Charlie Montoyo on the Jays throwing kikuchi under the bus right before being let go