The Toronto Maple Leafs are in serious trouble. In what felt like a must-win Game 4 on Saturday, they had by far and away their worst effort of the series, falling by a 3-1 final. The series isn’t technically over at 3-1, but feels insurmountable given what they’ve shown this far.
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As they’ve shown plenty in the past, the Maple Leafs seem to lack the extra gear that other top teams, like the Boston Bruins, display when these games matter most. Their core four, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares see their play fall off year after year, and while their head coach may not want to admit to it, effort has played a big part as to why.
Keefe Says Effort Not to Blame
After Game 4, head coach Sheldon Keefe appeared quite dejected, but refrained from calling out any of his top stars. They saw even more criticism than usual, with Matthews and Nylander caught getting frustrated at Marner on the bench. It seemed to many like they may have been critiquing his effort level on a prior play, but Keefe refused to admit that effort was a problem.
“Nothing wrong with the effort level tonight,” Keefe said postgame. “Guys were competing. It’s physical hockey. Guys are trying. It’s a good team over there, and it’s limiting us. You can question a lot of things, you can’t question the effort.”
That comment circulated like wildfire among the Maple Leafs fan base, as Keefe had every opportunity to say the effort was inexcusable, and perhaps light a fire under his top stars heading into Game 5. Instead, he seemed to give them a pat on the back, which is the last thing fans want to see or hear at this point. If they were a young, inexperienced group, those comments may be acceptable. For a team that crumples under the pressure of the playoffs year after year, they are inexcusable.
This isn’t the first time Keefe has taken a soft approach with this group, either. Early in the 2022-23 season, he criticized his top stars for not living up to their elite-level status.
“The difference between us and Arizona is that we have elite players,” the head coach said following a loss to the Arizona Coyotes. “And our elite players didn’t play like elite players today, they couldn’t make a difference. In that sense, the game is going to be close. That’s the way it goes when those guys don’t make the difference that they can.”
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Instead of sticking with those comments, he apologized a short time later, saying he used the wrong words. It seemed like Marner wasn’t a big fan, as he admitted that he talked to Keefe following those comments.
“I talked to him today, and he explained what he meant to say and how it came out,” said Marner. “I’ll leave it at that. We have closed doors for a reason.”
Many felt like Keefe was coddling his top players, and Marner in particular, following that odd exchange through the media. After his most recent comments on their effort in Game 4 against the Bruins, it is hard to see it as anything but.
Maple Leafs Need Tough-Love Approach
If this core is to stay intact next season, general manager Brad Treliving is going to need to find a new head coach. He can’t have one that is scared to criticize his team’s top stars, as these results we are seeing year after year are what you get.
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This team needs a hard-nosed coach who isn’t afraid to call them out, whether publicly or behind closed doors. They need someone who will light a fire under them to allow them to bring out their best effort each and every night come the playoffs. Keefe isn’t that, as has been proven by the Maple Leafs’ playoff appearances in each of the past four years where they have seen early exits despite great regular season success.