Toronto Maple Leafs Random Stats Since Sheldon Keefe Took Over

The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone on an impressive 4-1 record since Sheldon Keefe took over as head coach.

The Toronto Maple Leafs fired Mike Babock after they lost their sixth game in a row.

But it wasn’t just the losing that got Babcock fired. The players hated playing for him, and they weren’t having fun coming to the rink anymore.  They played the Penguins three days before he was fired, and it was clear the team quit on their coach.

Enter Sheldon Keefe.

Since being hired, Keefe has the Leafs playing to their strengths – activating the defensemen, rushing the puck, focusing on possession and creating high-danger scoring chances.

So far, so good.  Let’s look at some of the stats so far under the Leafs new coach.

Toronto Maple Leafs and Sheldon Keefe

Unless noted, all stats are 5v5 from naturalstattrick.com

Under Babcock, Auston Matthews was averaging 15:12 minutes per game, and that is now up to 16:26.

Tavares has gone from 14:12 to 16:29

Nylander from 14:14 to 15:09

It seems that Keefe likes to rely on his top two lines a lot more than Babcock does.  Freddie Guathier has lost almost two minutes per night since Keefe took over.

On the blueline, Keefe has used Ceci and Rielly more than his second pairing, which is the opposite of what Babcock did.

Ceci is leading the Leafs in ice time per game since Keefe took over. As the Leafs worst and most polarizing defenseman, it’s likely he wants to see what he has in Ceci before deciding what to do.

Since Keefe took over, Ceci is playing worse than ever and is the only Leafs defenseman under 50% possession with an ugly 46%.

In fact, only four players are under 50% under Keefe: Spezza, Ceci, Kerfoot and Kapanen.

If you look at expected goals percentage instead of Corsi, only four players are under 50% and they are the same ones, expect swap out Spezza for Petan.

Matthews expected goal percentage has gone from 56% (great) to 61% (amazing).

Tavares expected goal percentage has gone from 46% to 62%.

Nylander 54% to 60%.

The Leafs are getting and allowing more shots under Keefe, but they’re doing a better job of getting shots from the dangerous areas under the new coach, and this is making a huge difference.

Keefe relies on his best players more than Babcock did, and the faith is paying off because the Leafs three best players (with Marner out at least) have all shown extreme improvement since the coaching change.

Of course, it’s just five games and that is a very tiny sample size.  This isn’t a meaningful study, and it’s not proof of anything.

What it is, is evidence of a good start.  Evidence that change was needed, and that if the Toronto Maple Leafs play to their strengths, they’ll be one of the NHL’s best teams.