On Tuesday afternoon, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that Brad Treliving confirmed that Sheldon Keefe would be returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs as their head coach for the upcoming season.
There was speculation since the ending of the Toronto Maple Leafs season that Keefe may get his pink slip, which only seemed to be evident once it was announced that Kyle Dubas was not returning.
However, before making a decision, Treliving stated he respected Keefe’s success and he would assume he would be sought after if available (Per: SportsSkeeda.com).
Keefe will be entering the last year of his two-year extension he signed in September 2021, that according to capfriendly.com pays him around $1.95 Million per season.
Toronto Maple Leafs Bringing Back the Coach
The 42-year old Brampton native took over for Mike Babcock during the 2019-20 season after the veteran coach was fired.
Keefe had no NHL coaching experience prior to taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs bench boss, but had over four years of experience in the organization as the Toronto Marlies coach which saw them make the playoffs in each of the seasons and make deep playoff runs.
His Marlies tenure was highlighted by a Calder Cup Championship during the 2017-18 season.
Prior to his time in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization he coached for three seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League.
While in the Soo, Keefe coached currently NHL players including: Jared McCann, Michael Bunting, Darnell Nurse and Matt Murray among several others.
Keefe currently has the highest winning percentage in Leafs history at .678 (credit: hockey-reference.com) and sits sixth in total wins, just seven shy of tying Babcock.
Keefe’s success has to be taken with a grain of salt as he took over a team that was already a Stanley Cup contender and has yet to have to coach a team through a rebuild.
The confirmation of the organization moving forward next season with Keefe puts any speculation of a new coach to rest.
Treliving’s top priority when he arrived in Toronto was speaking with star center Auston Matthews, which leads me to speculate that Keefe is likely Matthews choice going forward.