Toronto Maple Leafs: Familiarity with roster should help Sheldon Keefe
By James Reeve
The Mike Babcock era is over and Sheldon Keefe now has the difficult task of getting the Toronto Maple Leafs back on track this season.
After a disappointing start to the 2019/20 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have swapped veteran coach Mike Babcock with Sheldon Keefe, who will be stepping into the NHL for the very first time as a coach.
Keefe is no stranger to the Leafs organization, having had great success with their AHL affiliates the Toronto Marlies, lifting the Calder Cup in the 2017/18 season.
The transition from the AHL to the NHL is a big one, but Keefe will be stepping into quite a unique situation with the Leafs, having coached a significant number of players currently on the roster during the earlier stages of their careers.
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Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star posted a list of players currently on the Leafs roster that Keefe has coached at some stage of their career, with the majority of the team having already worked with him.
Guys like William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Zach Hyman and Andreas Johnsson, who was named AHL playoff MVP when the Marlies won the cup, have all been coached by Keefe, with him helping to develop them into NHL players that have now been in the league for the past few seasons.
Having such familiarity with the roster could be a huge benefit to Keefe, who has only ever worked in the AHL at the professional level.
Knowing the players and having had positive relationships with them in the past could make the transition into his new job a smoother one, while also giving fans hope that he can be the guy to get them back on track thanks to his intimate knowledge of how they should be deployed on the ice.
All eyes will be on Keefe when he takes charge against the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche, with hopes of an immediate turnaround.
Time will need to be given to the rookie coach, but changes could be noticed quite early on in part thanks to Keefe’s existing knowledge of the players at his disposal.
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What do you think Leafs fans? Will Keefe turn things around? Will he work the same magic he did in the AHL? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!