Toronto Maple Leafs: Handing Out the NHL Awards at Christmas

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 21: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs speaks after being awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for the most valuable player during the 2022 NHL Awards at Armature Works on June 21, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 21: Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs speaks after being awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for the most valuable player during the 2022 NHL Awards at Armature Works on June 21, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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Nov 8, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe watches the play against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 8, 2022; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe watches the play against the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

No. 4: Jack Adams

  • Nominees:
    • Jim Montgomery, Boston Bruins
    • Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Bruce Cassidy, Vegas Golden Knights
  • Toronto Maple Leafs Nominee:
    • Sheldon Keefe
    • Christmas Winner:
      • Sheldon Keefe, Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Can we put a “DJ” in front of Sheldon Keefe’s name right now because all he does is win.

        For the past 3.5 season’s, Keefe has won basically 7 of every 10 regular season games he coaches and has led this team to thier most wins and points in any season in franchise history. Currently, the team is scheduled to surpass their previous best, which occured last year.

        Keefe has been great in the past, but this has been his best coaching perfromance yet. The team has had multiple injuries to the blue-line, all while having two new goalies and they’ve performed better defensively than ever before.

        The Leafs rarely allow more than three goals and a lot of that has to do with how Keefe is coaching this team.

        Instead of relying on out-scoring their opponent, they’re trying to nutrilize the opposition and limit their scoring chances. That was shown to perfection against the Tampa Bay Lightning in thier 4-1 win on December 20th, as the team played a near-perfect game. 

        Keefe deserves this victory and hopefully he gets the real award at the end of the year.