Maple Leafs Won’t Let Cloud of Keefe Extension Hang Over Season NHL Trade Talk.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Toronto Maple Leafs may not know if they’ll be retaining the services of head coach Sheldon Keefe yet, but the bench boss has met with new general manager Brad Treliving twice now and if Keefe is sticking around, the belief is that Treliving will immediately offer the coach an extension.
It’s an intriguing twist for the narrative that Keefe might be the next to go in Toronto, but NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported during the second intermission of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final: “If he’s back, I think we’re in a situation where they won’t go in with him in his last year, I think there will be an extension if he returns as coach of the Leafs.”
The thinking here is probably twofold. First, no team wants the cloud of a coaching extension hanging over the team for an entire season. The coach certainly doesn’t want it and as the Maple Leafs try to make season and go farther than the second round, it makes sense for the players to know the person behind the bench is the one whose system you’ll be following all season. Second, the Leafs need those players who are staying to buy in.
The Players Need to Be on the Same Page As Their Coach
By either firing or extending Keefe, Treliving and the Maple Leafs are essentially telling their most important players that ‘this is our path. You’re either on board or you’re not and we’ll try to find a new home for you.’ If the organization shows its faith if Keefe, Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner then have a decision to make. Are they supportive of their coach and share his vision? Or, are they tired of the same messaging and want to go elsewhere? If it’s the latter, that message is likely delivered to Treliving early and Keefe is released in the next couple of weeks.
Fenway Sports & Penguins Send Blatant Message to Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs Won’t Let Cloud of Keefe Extension Hang Over Season NHL Trade Talk.
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