The last couple of days has seen Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe publicly admit that he and his coaching staff could be doing a better job managing their players and game situations with Keefe going as far as saying they have only played to their potential about 50% of the time this season.
His comments have once again raised some eyebrows about his future with the team, although he still has one year left on his contract thanks to the extension he signed ahead of this season. Keefe has been under a microscope all season, with fans calling for him to be fired on numerous occasions. Although fans want him fired, there are no indications that GM Brad Treliving will be relieving Keefe of his duties any time soon.
One former Leafs GM, Brian Burke, also spoke up in defense of Keefe on Leafs Morning Take on Wednesday. An old-school GM that built his teams with "truculence and testosterone", Burke discussed the job Keefe has done thus far.
Burke went on to say that he has been very impressed by Keefe and that although he doesn't know him well, he is impressed by what he knows of him. Since joining the Leafs in November of 2019 after the firing of Mike Babcock, Keefe has posted a record of 192-86-38 in 316 regular season games. While he is just 13-17 in the playoffs, which is the reason so many have called for him to be fired, the Leafs as a franchise have struggled there for 20+ years. Should the Leafs fail in the playoffs again this season however, this could be the last regular season we see Keefe behind the bench.
