Keefe’s fate as Maple Leafs coach ‘out of my control’

TORONTO -- With his future as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs seemingly up in the air, Sheldon Keefe accepted the blame Monday for yet another disappointing showing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

At the same time, he refuses to give up -- not on his team, and not on his ability as an NHL head coach.

“We’re in the results business here, and we didn’t get results,” Keefe said. “We haven’t met expectations, and as head coach I take responsibility for that.”

Whether he gets the opportunity to remedy that with the Maple Leafs remains to be seen after they were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference First Round in heartbreaking fashion via David Pastrnak’s overtime goal in Boston’s 2-1 victory in Game 7 at TD Garden on Saturday.

“I just believe in myself and our team, and that our team will win,” he said.

Since replacing Mike Babcock as coach on Nov. 19, 2019, Keefe has led Toronto to a regular season record of 212-97-40. He ranks fifth in coaching victories in Maple Leafs history, trailing only Punch Imlach (370), Pat Quinn (300), Hap Day (259) and Dick Irvin (216).

At the same time, Toronto’s postseason struggles during Keefe’s tenure have led to questions as to whether the team’s hierarchy will keep him as coach or change direction. The answer could come by Friday, when Maple Leafs management addresses the media.

When Brad Treliving took over as general manager for Kyle Dubas last summer, one of his first moves was to sign Keefe to a two-year contract that runs through the 2025-26 season. But after another premature postseason exit, recently hired Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment president Keith Pelley is expected to closely assess the status of all the key members of hockey operations including Keefe, Treliving and team president Brendan Shanahan.

Whatever determination is ultimately made, Keefe deserves some credit for falling on the knife. At least he is being accountable for the Maple Leafs winning just one of six postseason series under his watch, a stint in which Toronto has gone 16-21 and advanced to the Eastern Conference Second Round just once.

With upper echelon players such as forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly on the roster, the 43-year-old coach said the team has set a high bar which he has not been able to lift them enough to reach as of yet.

“You have a team that has expectations and has goals in mind, and when you don’t reach them it’s not a good feeling,” Keefe said. “My job as coach is to find solutions and chart a path ahead for the group to come through. They need to succeed at the most important time of the year, and we haven’t done that.”

Keefe did say he was encouraged by the way the Maple Leafs rebounded after being down 3-1 in the series to come all the way back to force a Game 7 against the Bruins, which ultimately was decided in overtime.

“I love the resolve we showed in this series -- Games 5 and 6 in particular -- to give us a chance to compete in a Game 7,” he said. “Clearly that’s not enough, and that sits with me.”

Perhaps the most perplexing aspect of Toronto’s latest early exit revolves around the lack of playoff offense, given that almost half of its salary cap is dedicated to four players – Matthews ($11.6 million average annual value), Tavares ($11 million AAV), Marner ($10.9 million AAV) and Nylander ($6.9 million AAV) -- who are relied upon to score goals. Matthews’ AAV rises to $13.25 million next season, Nylander’s to $11.5 million.

In recent postseason times, the four core forwards haven’t produced, nor have their teammates.

Consider that the Maple Leafs have scored two goals or fewer in 13 of their past 14 playoff games. Part of those scoring woes came via a sputtering power play that went 1-for-21 against the Bruins.

History has shown coaches are often made the obvious scapegoats when teams underachieve. Given he’s only been on the job as Toronto GM for a year, Treliving is likely to get more time to leave his fingerprints on a franchise that has just one playoff series win in 20 years.

But what of Keefe? Even he understands his fate is out of his hands.

“I’m in the coaching business, and in the coaching business you don’t get to make decisions about your position,” he said. “So for me, it’s out of my control.

“My job is to find solutions and help direct and create a path for our team and continue to move forward, and that’s my focus. I understand that ownership and management, they make those types of decisions. And, as I said, I accept responsibility for not meeting results.

“But I believe in myself greatly. And I love coaching the Toronto Maple Leafs.”