The defending Calder Cup champion Toronto Marlies just punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Marlies have been pretty dominant in the playoffs so far going 7-0 and now wait the winner between Charlotte and Hershey. Of course head coach Sheldon Keefe has been a huge part of the Marlies success over the last couple of years and it's not going unnoticed. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, Keefe is considered a strong candidate for the Buffalo Sabres head coaching job. Friedman adds that it's no guarantee as Keefe has strong incentives to stay in Toronto with the possibility of becoming Maple Leafs head coach in a year or two and he reportedly makes over $400k coaching the Marlies. The highest paid coach in the AHL will only leave for a "great situation" according to Friedman and it's very questionable as to if you can consider the Sabres a "great situation". Darren Dreger also mentioned yesterday that Keefe's window to interview with other teams is very short in his contract, so if he does have any interest expect an interview and job announcement all to happen within a short period of time.
