With the NHL’s announcement yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be getting ready for action very soon.
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t played since March, and although that feels like 10 years ago, it was only 10 weeks ago.
With those 10 weeks off from regularly scheduled programming, the Toronto Maple Leafs may actually benefit more than a few other teams when hockey returns.
Sure, players returning from injury will be the biggest benefit but there’s one key piece that hasn’t been talked about as much.
Toronto Maple Leafs Head Coach
Back in November when Sheldon Keefe took over a struggling Leafs team, the team lacked defensive structure and an ability to play freely.
Two players that instantly shined thanks to Keefe’s hiring were Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Thanks to increased ice-time together, that duo, as expected, became one of the most exciting tandems in the NHL creating highlight moments nightly.
Down 6-4 in the third period of an afternoon tilt against Carolina, the free-flowing style of Matthews and Marner connected for one of the best goals of the season.
Filthy is the perfect word to describe this goal, as the Twitter account above eludes to.
It’s not like Keefe taught these guys those moves at practice, but the ability to put them together more often has made highlights like this more common. They made the game more enjoyable and Keefe deserves a lot of credit for this.
Auston Matthews on Marner: "Not many people see the game like he does"
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) January 30, 2020
Mitch: "He finds those areas, soft areas with no one around him ... whenever I give it to him I've had confidence it could be going in the back of the net so it's a nice feeling"#BellLetsTalk
It’s moves like this that have improved the team and made them better under his leadership, but the biggest thing that will benefit the Leafs throughout this break is the ability to start fresh.
By changing coaches mid-season, the team turned over a new leaf (pun intended), and were able to get the bad Mike Babcock traits out of their system early but some of those things crept back.
A poor defensive effort still continued at times under Keefe, so the break has hopefully given him time to adjust.
Not only will Keefe have the ability to introduce a new system when the team gets going again but he’ll be able to do it with a full roster. As mentioned before, injuries were a huge concern for the team all year, especially on the blue-line.
The defense seemed to play a huge role in Keefe’s system, especially when he was coaching the Toronto Marlies, as quoted below.
"“We ask our defense to do a lot of things with and without the puck that many of them are hearing for the first time, that is different than other places”"
If he was incorporating that same message in the NHL to players like Rasmus Sandin, Martin Marincin, Calle Rosen and Justin Holl, who were filling the void for Jake Muzzin and Morgan Rielly, his message may not have been getting translated as easily and that’s why the team’s defense wasn’t as good as hoped.
By having a training camp prior to real action, Keefe will be able to work with his team and incorporate a true system that he thinks will help them win. During the NHL-season, when rest is so crucial, it’s hard to implement brand new systems during the year.
It’s kind of a like a golfer who’s having a tough day on the course. You’re not going to give them lessons during their round. Instead, you need a ton of time on the driving range to work out their issues.
Once hockey gets ready and the full team is able to practice again, look for Keefe to be excited and eager to teach, as this will be the fresh start the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to pursue a Stanley Cup run.