Reaction to Sheldon Keefe getting fired John Tavares [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MTYxOTU2NjQ0NTk0Nzg3/usatsi_23091175_168400847_lowres.jpg] John Tavares If you ever wondered why John Tavares — and not Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner — was named captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2019, the 33-year-old's decision to represent Canada at the World Championship should put any questions to rest. This is what leadership looks like. This is what a captain does. The Maple Leafs had expected to go on a lengthy run in the playoffs this year. But once again, their post-season was cut short with yet another Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round. It was the seventh time in the past eight years where the Leafs failed to advance to the second round. As a result, head coach Sheldon Keefe was fired on Thursday. Expect it to be the first of many moves that GM Brad Treliving makes in what promises to be an eventful off-season. But one player who shouldn't be shown the door is Tavares. For one, he's got one more year remaining on a contract that few teams would want to touch. Even if a team wanted him, the Leafs need more players like Tavares if they are ever going to get over the hump and go deep. Tavares get it. He knows that the Leafs underachieved. With one goal and one assist in seven games against the Bruins, he knows he underachieved. He also knows that in a perfect world, he should still be playing right now in the second round. Just because Toronto was knocked out of the playoffs shouldn't change that fact. So, according to a report from TSN's Darren Dreger, the Leafs captain is heading over to Czechia to play alongside Connor Bedard, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Brandon Hagel at the World Championship. This will be the fourth time he's done so. Maybe this is a chance for Tavares to audition for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, though at his age that seems unlikely. Maybe he wants to cross another item off his career resume and win gold at a tournament where he's never finished higher than fifth. Maybe he wants to say he got to play with Bedard. Or maybe he wants to send a message to not only Matthews and Marner, but also youngsters such as Matthew Knies and Joseph Woll, that this year's playoff exit wasn't good enough. The Leafs should still be playing. And Tavares, who is extending his seeason by continuing to wear the Maple Leaf, is showing that by continuing to play — and lead like he has always done.
