The 3 Biggest Toronto Maple Leafs Stories Heading into 2nd Half

Coaching

The state of the Toronto Maple Leafs coaching and management are extremely concerning for anyone paying attention.

First let's talk about the coach.

Keefe is getting results he has no business getting, and that comes with a tendency to be very impressed by what he's doing and give him credit for those results.

The problem is, however, that he's partly responsible for the team playing bad enough to lose on most nights. For example, the Leafs make a lot of comebacks after the other team gives up, and after both teams abandon their strategies due to there being a multi-goal lead. It's hard to credit for the team's success when a lot of that success is just because Matthews and Nylander can outscore the team's issues.

Other concerns I have: he doesn't play Robertson enough. In fact, he's been horrible his entire term in breaking young players into the lineup.

He makes bad lines. He doesn't have a lot of options when Domi can't defend and Kampf can't score, and those guys make up half his centres, but still, his lines leave a lot to be desired.

Keefe also hasn't adjusted so far this year. His team doesn't play anything like last year's team was capable. Specifically, he doesn't seem to have compensated for the overall terrible puck-moving abilities of his blue-line. Previously the Leafs were puck possession monsters, but now they aren't.

I also hate how he starts Kampf in overtime, how he kept playing Ryan Reaves, and how he often puts the fourth line out to kill all momentum after a goal.

If the Leafs had the record they deserve, and not the one they've fluked into, I believe they would already have changed coaches. I think they should change coaches anyway, but being proactive is not in the NHL GM's playbook.