Keefe’s Coaching Job With Leafs Is Secure, Despite Temptations To Bring In Trotz

Earlier this week, veteran NHL head coach Barry Trotz spoke about his interest in getting back into running a team in hockey’s top league, and his specific comments about coaching an Original Six franchise stirred up all kinds of speculation about him taking over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I’ve never coached an Original Six (team) – that would intrigue me,” Trotz told The Cam And Strick podcast, igniting a firestorm among Leafs’ fans and media.

Observers did the math on the Original Six front, noting that five of the six teams are satisfied with their coaching situation: Martin St.-Louis isn’t going anywhere in Montreal; Jim Montgomery is in his first year in Boston, and doing rather well thus far; Luke Richardson is in his first year running things in Chicago; Gerard Gallant’s job with the New York Rangers isn’t in jeopardy, and Detroit has a new bench boss in Derek Lalonde. That leaves one team – the Leafs – as the most likely Original Six destination for Trotz.

That said, the Leafs’ slow start to the season isn’t going to lead to Trotz replacing Sheldon Keefe as head coach – at least, not yet. Keefe and Toronto GM Kyle Dubas have a very close relationship, and the two have won an American League Calder Cup championship together. That type of success usually leads to a deep bond between the coach and GM. That means Dubas and Keefe aren’t about to give up on each other just yet.

This is not to suggest anyone other than Auston Matthews on this team isn’t untouchable. If Toronto’s current malaise doesn’t clear up sometime soon, Keefe will be the subject of more rumors and more heat. That’s just how it goes in a zero-sum profession like coaching. One day you’re fully-engaged with your players, and gradually, eventually, that connection wanes. This is why the turnover in the profession is significant.

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For now, though, Keefe and the Leafs are positioned in a good place to end their Jekyll-and-Hyde habits thus far this year: in their next four games, they’re playing teams they should beat – San Jose and Anaheim have three wins combined; Los Angeles has only four wins; and Philadelphia is due for a regression from their hot start – and they need to start putting up wins in those games before subsequent showdowns with the white-hot Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins twice in four nights. Toronto’s mediocre efforts simply won’t do against any of those veteran, Stanley Cup-capable teams.

Yes, it’s troubling that Keefe can’t get the Leafs sufficiently amped up to start some games. Sure, it’s worrisome that Toronto can’t knock off bottom-of-their-division teams like Arizona and Montreal. Keefe has to (and does) take ownership of those issues. But the Leafs’ core players have already experienced a coaching change in their time in Toronto, when Mike Babcock lost his job and Keefe replaced him nearly three years ago. Even if Trotz could come in and implement the systems and attitude of a proven Cup winner, the onus remains on the players to rise to the occasion, earn a spot at the top of the Atlantic Division, and start giving Leafs fans some genuine playoff memories.

Keefe still has time to ratchet up Toronto’s performance. This is the same person who led the Leafs to franchise-best totals in single-season standings points (115) and wins (54). He’s earned some more games to figure out what ails this team. The shelf life of the average NHL coach is rather brief, but if he is dismissed and Trotz takes his place, Keefe can rest assured knowing he’s a respected young man who will get another chance somewhere else.

However, at the moment, Keefe has faith in himself and Leafs players. And it’s up to those players to keep Keefe’s job secure.