My Take
Firing Mike Babcock, however inevitable, was a mistake. Without implying appointing Sheldon Keefe is a mistake.
There’s no point sugar-coating it; Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan, they faltered, significantly, handling the coaching situation. It affected their credibility, making their positions vulnerable moving forward.
They chose to do the season with Babcock, backing out of that, what I assumed to be well thought out, decision when the results were poor due to circumstances out of Babcock’s control. Dubas telling the world game 5 against Boston convinced them to continue with Babcock is an absolute fallacy.
Moving forward with Keefe I expect the team to undergo a transformation, playing to their strengths. Little by little, step by step, the one game ice will improve. With the material at hand, it’s a matter of time that the results will come as well.
The most important change, however, moving forward, will be the players will rediscover their joy on the ice as they looked rather anhedonic under Babcock’s last games.