
Matthew Rodrigo
Let’s face it, the Leafs were slumping with Mike Babcock. Something needed to change because nothing was improving. The worst that can happen with Sheldon Keefe is that the Leafs could continue to slump.
The potential to benefit from a coaching change outweighed the risk of a coaching change (which could have possibly been to keep losing). So I definitely think the coaching change was a good move. I won’t say it was needed necessarily, but it was appropriate.
The biggest change with Keefe will simply be how he mixes up the lines. It’ll take Keefe a few games to find a lineup that he’s comfortable with, but he most definitely will try some new things out.
Moving forward, the important thing is to look at the progress for a little while to come, overlooking at progress in the standings. Keefe needs to be given the proper time to bring the game of this team to a new level.
With some time under Keefe, the results will follow soon enough.