Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving reiterated he’s a fan of his head coach but no extension has happened as of yet.
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving reiterated he’s a fan of his head coach but no extension has happened as of yet.
Sheldon Keefe did a lot of twisting in the wind this spring as he awaited his fate. But will fall bring a new level of anxiety?
The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach knows he’s coming back this season after getting the nod of approval from new GM Brad Treliving back in June. But will Keefe be given a contract extension going into the season? Or will he be subject to same final-year status like Toronto’s previous GM Kyle Dubas?
Speaking to reporters on Friday just a couple of days after signing star forward Auston Matthews to a four-year, $53 million contract extension, Treliving expressed his joy in working with Keefe and getting to know Toronto’s head coach, but punted on any specifics on a timeline for an extension.
“We’ll continue to work and talk about things on Sheldon’s side and see where that gets to,” Treliving said on Friday. “I can say I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and I think he’s a terrific man and a terrific coach. We’ll see where that goes.”
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Treliving has had a busy few months with the Maple Leafs, but took care of his No. 1 priority when he signed Matthews on Wednesday. The former Calgary Flames GM took some time to get to know Keefe before making it known later in the month that he intended to bring him back to start the season.
Toronto’s bench boss talked about the waiting process at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville in June where he described the waiting process as “uncertain and “uncomfortable” at times but was thrilled to continue on. He was particularly appreciative of Brendan Shanahan for giving him a chance to meet with Treliving for a chance to stay on. The team president and alternate governor could have dismissed Keefe along with Dubas but elected to have the new GM make the final decision on the coaching staff.
The relationship between Treliving and Keefe? It’s been good according to the GM.
“We talk daily about the team-building process,” Treliving said of Keefe. “As I went through the process and I said then that Sheldon would be coming back, I was really impressed then and I continue to be impressed each day.”
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Keefe has had two professional head coaching positions in hockey. First with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League in 2015 and then with the Leafs in 2019. He was hired to both posts by Dubas, who is now the president of hockey operations and general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
There were some changes to Keefe’s staff this summer. With assistant coach Spencer Carbery departing to become the head coach of the Washington Capitals, Toronto hired Guy Boucher and Mike Van Ryn hired on as assistants. It was interesting as Van Ryn will run the defense with assistance from Dean Chynoweth. Manny Malhotra will move into a watching the games from above in his assistant’s role.
While new assistant coaches are nothing new for Keefe, Boucher’s hiring was notable, given the former Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators head coach was set to become Toronto’s head coach in 2015 had Mike Babcock not accepted the position.
Could it make sense to let Keefe play this out without a new deal? It’s not out of the realm of possibility.
On Oct. 1, 2021, it was revealed that Keefe had signed a two-year extension with the club just days before the season began. It could come down to the wire again. But in an age where parent company Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment just finished off paying millions to Babcock for nearly four seasons not to work, the company may be done in terms of paying staff not to work.
Time will tell.
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