Sheldon Keefe says his team is doing a lot of good things, but 42 games into the season, he's still unsure who to deploy for critical situations.
Sheldon Keefe says his team is doing a lot of good things, but 42 games into the season, he's still unsure who to deploy for critical situations.
CALGARY — Sheldon Keefe was insistent that his team has played well defensively over the last 10 games but admitted that there are still issues within the club that have led to his Toronto Maple Leafs giving up leads and subsequently losing games.
"That has shown our inconsistency in those big moments," Keefe said on Wednesday. It's not a reflection, I don't think, of where our team is at."
The Maple Leafs are currently on a four-game losing streak. In their last three contests Toronto has started well, only to eventually lose leads and give up the go-ahead goals late in regulation time.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtNcXf5B8bE[/embed]
And although the Maple Leafs did have a stretch where they closed out games without issue like their sweep of their California road trip earlier this month, the difficulty of picking up wins in regulation time isn't new.
"I don’t think it’s necessary just an issue here in just these days, It’s all season long," Keefe admitted." That’s why we failed to win in regulation with the regularity that we want to see."
The Leafs' 13 wins in regulation rank 25th of 32 teams through games played on Tuesday.
The Maple Leafs initially planned to take Wednesday off before taking on the Calgary Flames on Thursday, but that changed with a small group of players taking the ice with Keefe and the rest of the coaching staff at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. Simon Benoit was the only player on the ice who played in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. But Keefe met with the group of players earlier in the day and "bluntly" talked about where his team is at when it comes to closing out games.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4A12R_dtesw[/embed]
"It’s the critical moments we’ve got to defend and with fatigue you get tired and the other team is pushing," Keefe said. "We’re tired and can’t get the puck out and now you’ve got to be dialled in and protect your net."
But perhaps the most eye-opening admission from the fifth-year NHL head coach is at the midway mark of the season, there are some trust issues when it comes to who should be out there for the big moments on the ice.
"We’re halfway through the season now, 42 games in, I still have a lot of questions, quite honestly, about who is going to go out and who is going to get the job done."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQhM9VoYCV0[/embed]
For the last four seasons, Keefe hasn't had to deal with those issues. He had defensive players he could trust and midway through an 82-game season, the question wasn't about whether the Maple Leafs would make the playoffs, it was whether would they finish second or third in the Atlantic Division.
Every game has been a struggle and fight for their identity. The team isn't getting enough offense this season and Maple Leafs captain John Tavares is currently through his longest pointless streak (five games) since joining the team in 2018. TJ Brodie, a reliable defender since signing with the Maple Leafs in 2020, has struggled with assignments.
Keefe is choosing to wear most of the issues with the club by his admission on Wednesday. He remains insistent that the Leafs have consistency in their game. It's just a matter now if the players will give him time to find it.
"It’s there," he said. "It’s in us and it’s on me to continue to remind them about that."
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKoZJEKa1t8[/embed]
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