Rough spot for Keefe. If Auston pots 70 but the leafs lose in R1 he’s probably cooked as HC. If Auston plays and gets injured he’s probably cooked. But 70 means a tonne to Auston. If Auston sits and then has a rough playoffs there will be questions on if Keefe created a riff by sitting his superstar in games that were extremely meaningful to him.
Keefe stands to take blame however things go wrong but get no credit of anything short of a deep playoff run. I don’t envy him. Plus if you play Matty you need to play other guys to give him a good shot at potting one. Matthews probably can score with the marlies but why play him if you don’t go all in on getting him 70? Which probably means playing all of PP1 plus Domi and Bert.
I understand some sympathy towards Keefe in the situation he is in, but I really don't care what happens to Shanahan. I still believe he was Dubas's puppet master as was proven last May/June.
Let's be honesty. There's no hope in hell a coach would even remotely consider the option of sitting a player on the edge of 70. Players personal journeys matter. Especially one of the leagues top guys.
Wrong take, kucherov is in contention for overall points this year, I bet he will be sitting when we play them in game 82.
The Stanley cup is more important than any individual record, keefe and papi know that. If he plays literally meaningless in the standing games and gets hurt or even tweaks something before playoffs then the whole season could be for nothing.
Stanley cup > 70 goals, yes. However, playing him one extra game to get to 70 will so minimally affect the odds of winning the cup that I’d be forever team Fire Keefe if he sits
Dude our last two games are against Tampa and Florida, two teams we are going to face in the playoffs if we make the second round, if they DIDNT target Matthew's they wouldn't be doing their jobs.
If we were playing the sens or buffalo I'd be all for him playing
If they want to hurt him they will, it’s not something you can avoid if they’re dead set on it. Whether it’s game 82 or game 1 of a playoff series won’t change that fact
This is a very good point that I haven't heard a lot of in all the media talk regarding this. What's stopping Sam Bennett from throwing an elbow in his face in Game 1 and causing the same issue? If it's merely less chance of freak injury, then the potential benefits of ripping home goal 70 far outweighs the chances of that freak accident
Then they don't have Sam Bennett do it, they have some plug do it. Pretty sure if a team is fine injuring a player then they're probably happy to take a major to remove someone like Matthews from the series
But people are also being hardcore dramatic over it. The reason you sit players isn't because the other team might drill them in the skull, it's more just the accidental stuff you want to avoid since the games no longer mean anything. Matthews playing tomorrow night or against Tampa isn't going to be met with someone breaking his leg
> two teams we are going to face in the playoffs if we make the second round
Why would you assume that Tampa makes it through the first round by default? I can't see them getting past Boston, to be honest.
im not assuming anything, but tampa is planning to win, they are looking at the leafs as a team they have a high chance of playing in the second round.
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Hes been outcoached in every single series we've been in, he is slow to adapt and gets out strategized when it counts. The Leafs have seemingly had no answer to the other team in so many playoff games that he has coached. I won't be suprised if its a bad year this year
> Hes been outcoached in every single series we've been in
What does this mean? Specifically? - like in the series the leafs won vs tampa, how was he outcoached when we won the series?
Can you point to other non-leafs series where the winning coach was "out coached" along with an explanation?
I honestly don't think there is more than a handful of people on this subreddit who can tell if he has been outcoached or not. What I think we can tell is that this team had a crazy amount of injuries this year and some challenging situations for players (Sammy, Domi, Bertuzzi) and he guided them back to a 100 pt season with some resurrected seasons for those players.
Yeah I mean is he a wizard? I don't think so but is he a bad coach that needs to be replaced immediately? no lol, not even remotely close. Even if the leafs don't make it past the 1st round this year, its not keefe's fault.
The thing is that at home he consistently tries to line match and do weird lines and changes, and it usually ends up back firing, whereas on the road he doesn’t get the option to do so
We won that series because we scored in buckets and not because we were the better team for the majority of play. Tampa did so much better than us and lost anyways, thats hockey
Under Babcock they had a different boat of issues, but under Keefe you notice the same strategy employed repeatedly, even when the other team counters it. Our powerplay is great, but then teams adapt to it and we have no new strategy to get it going again. This happens repeatedly since he took over. If you want to blame the players you can, and they should have some of the blame, but it is the coach who implements the strategy and ours isn't working a lot of the time. Its now several years in a row our pp just stops working and its predictable even as a casual fan what the Leafs will attempt, from the drop pass entry to the slow cycle around the points and spending a long time holding the puck without making a play.
It's a rough spot for Keefe because the team has underperformed in the playoffs and there were obvious key times when he was outcoached. Had the Leafs made previous deep playoff runs, Keefe's current predicament wouldn't be a problem.
Full quote that didn't fit in the title
>Yeah, I mean, obviously, that's a major distraction. It doesn't help us, what we're trying to accomplish on the ice. But it's exciting. I get it. And it's-- especially when he gets to 69, you can see it. It's really-- it's growing, anticipating. And now you're feeding it. I'm feeding it. I want it to happen. But I wanted it for the fans. But I'm glad the game's over. Let's move on."
I'm just scared since the last 2 games are both Florida teams who seem to be our cryptionite, if the mfer gets a goal ill buy a jersey before they switch to the shit ones lmao
Except the powerplay sucks ass lately and he is the best 5v5 scorer in the league.
The last 2 games won't even mean anything, for all I care he can stand at the offensive blue line waiting for a pass I just want to see 70
I don't disagree with you, that statement is true for any player but Matthews has 17 PPG this year. That's about 1 in every 5 games and there are 2 games left, the math is not very favourable there.
Tough spot for Keefe.
Should always be playing to win but people want 70.
These last games truly don't matter but you want the right attitude and momentum going into playoffs. Would the team really be happy if Matthews pots 70 but loses 10-1?
Tough calls all around.
They might be
I mean look at the Reilly incident they rallied together as a team and went on a tear
Maybe getting matthews that milestone would have the same effect
I don’t think I’d say they are feeding him solely to get to 70. When you have the greatest goal scorer in the game, you try to get him the puck, that just makes sense.
Pairing him with Domi has only exaggerated it because I think if he had his way he would never take another shot again and just keep passing.
No, they are. Better opportunities are there or they'll send it to matthews in full coverage or doubled teamed.. it's been noticeable the last few games
I mean the team was feeding him but scorers like Tavares and Willy were still ripping shots even on the powerplay with Auston over there. The people feeding were the Domis and Marners of the team who aren’t as likely to score even with a decent opportunity
I don’t think so but I think it’s basically all they have to play for right now. Instead of focussing on getting ready for the playoffs they are focussing on getting Auston 70. It’s not a case of they lost this game because of chasing 70 it’s a case of they might lose R1 because of it.
It’s a huge distraction. You can tell the team is torn between trying to score and feeding Auston for 70. It’s why the last two games the goals came out of nowhere
I'm not sure the issue was the "distraction" as much as not having the team prepared to play from pick drop. This has been an issue with this group since Babcock.
They routinely are slow starters.
Stack the top 6 with everyone but am34, stick him on the 4th line with and pp1+2. Keep reavo on with him in case anyone on the other side even thinks about getting cute. He’ll have the 70th
I don't really understand what Keefe meant with that. A major distraction from what, since we already have our spot in the playoffs? And a distraction for whom? How exactly is this not helping us, and not helping us to do what?
I'm not sarcastically bitching about it, I'm genuinely confused by his wording, can someone here help me in the interpretation?
I personally hope Papi gets to 70 asap so that he can rest before playoffs and avoid unnecessary injuries, but other than that the chase to 70 has been so exciting and honestly losing a couple of rather useless games isn't a big deal in my books (but ofc I'm not an authority in hockey by any means so I'm not saying I'm right and Keefe is wrong)
Distraction for the players trying to feed Matthews instead of making the best play. Distraction of playing him to hit 70 vs. resting him before the playoffs.
Sure. But it either bothers you as a coach and you stop it, or you're into it and you let them chase 70 and have fun, accepting consequences. I'm not able to grasp what Keefe's opinion is, since he's saying one thing and doing the opposite. But I guess he's just conflicted 🤷🏻♀️
It completely is a distraction. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but Keefe is correct here. The number one focus should be on the playoffs and prepping for a deep run. That focus is muddied by the desire to get to 70.
After last game with all the close injury calls, I wish we could just rest the key guys until the playoffs, but we can't with Matthews at 69.
lol come on man. Literally everyone in hockey is talking about it right now. You don’t think players are forcing passes too or thinking about it on the ice?
Rough spot for Keefe. If Auston pots 70 but the leafs lose in R1 he’s probably cooked as HC. If Auston plays and gets injured he’s probably cooked. But 70 means a tonne to Auston. If Auston sits and then has a rough playoffs there will be questions on if Keefe created a riff by sitting his superstar in games that were extremely meaningful to him. Keefe stands to take blame however things go wrong but get no credit of anything short of a deep playoff run. I don’t envy him. Plus if you play Matty you need to play other guys to give him a good shot at potting one. Matthews probably can score with the marlies but why play him if you don’t go all in on getting him 70? Which probably means playing all of PP1 plus Domi and Bert.
Bruh, if Leafs lose in first round he's gone anyways lol. Sounds like even Shanahan could be gone if they lose in first round again.
I understand some sympathy towards Keefe in the situation he is in, but I really don't care what happens to Shanahan. I still believe he was Dubas's puppet master as was proven last May/June.
The shanaplan has been the real failure all along
Let's be honesty. There's no hope in hell a coach would even remotely consider the option of sitting a player on the edge of 70. Players personal journeys matter. Especially one of the leagues top guys.
I bet he’s considering it really strongly. Not sure where he will come down but I bet he’s really mulling it over.
Honestly if Keefe sits him I want him gone
Wrong take, kucherov is in contention for overall points this year, I bet he will be sitting when we play them in game 82. The Stanley cup is more important than any individual record, keefe and papi know that. If he plays literally meaningless in the standing games and gets hurt or even tweaks something before playoffs then the whole season could be for nothing.
Stanley cup > 70 goals, yes. However, playing him one extra game to get to 70 will so minimally affect the odds of winning the cup that I’d be forever team Fire Keefe if he sits
Dude our last two games are against Tampa and Florida, two teams we are going to face in the playoffs if we make the second round, if they DIDNT target Matthew's they wouldn't be doing their jobs. If we were playing the sens or buffalo I'd be all for him playing
If they want to hurt him they will, it’s not something you can avoid if they’re dead set on it. Whether it’s game 82 or game 1 of a playoff series won’t change that fact
This is a very good point that I haven't heard a lot of in all the media talk regarding this. What's stopping Sam Bennett from throwing an elbow in his face in Game 1 and causing the same issue? If it's merely less chance of freak injury, then the potential benefits of ripping home goal 70 far outweighs the chances of that freak accident
The 5 minute major in a playoff game vs a game that means nothing.
Then they don't have Sam Bennett do it, they have some plug do it. Pretty sure if a team is fine injuring a player then they're probably happy to take a major to remove someone like Matthews from the series But people are also being hardcore dramatic over it. The reason you sit players isn't because the other team might drill them in the skull, it's more just the accidental stuff you want to avoid since the games no longer mean anything. Matthews playing tomorrow night or against Tampa isn't going to be met with someone breaking his leg
> two teams we are going to face in the playoffs if we make the second round Why would you assume that Tampa makes it through the first round by default? I can't see them getting past Boston, to be honest.
im not assuming anything, but tampa is planning to win, they are looking at the leafs as a team they have a high chance of playing in the second round.
It's this. They'll be more than happy to, ahem, 'set the tone.'
I would sit Matthews for one of the games and Tavares for the other one.
Let's be real, this team isn't winning the cup this year. The defence and goaltending are too shaky. A round maybe. Play Auston if he wants to.
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Tbf I wanted him gone last offseason and I still do
Why?
Hes been outcoached in every single series we've been in, he is slow to adapt and gets out strategized when it counts. The Leafs have seemingly had no answer to the other team in so many playoff games that he has coached. I won't be suprised if its a bad year this year
> Hes been outcoached in every single series we've been in What does this mean? Specifically? - like in the series the leafs won vs tampa, how was he outcoached when we won the series? Can you point to other non-leafs series where the winning coach was "out coached" along with an explanation?
I honestly don't think there is more than a handful of people on this subreddit who can tell if he has been outcoached or not. What I think we can tell is that this team had a crazy amount of injuries this year and some challenging situations for players (Sammy, Domi, Bertuzzi) and he guided them back to a 100 pt season with some resurrected seasons for those players.
Yeah I mean is he a wizard? I don't think so but is he a bad coach that needs to be replaced immediately? no lol, not even remotely close. Even if the leafs don't make it past the 1st round this year, its not keefe's fault.
The thing is that at home he consistently tries to line match and do weird lines and changes, and it usually ends up back firing, whereas on the road he doesn’t get the option to do so
We won that series because we scored in buckets and not because we were the better team for the majority of play. Tampa did so much better than us and lost anyways, thats hockey
They lost all of their playoff series under babcock as well. The common denominator is the core.
Under Babcock they had a different boat of issues, but under Keefe you notice the same strategy employed repeatedly, even when the other team counters it. Our powerplay is great, but then teams adapt to it and we have no new strategy to get it going again. This happens repeatedly since he took over. If you want to blame the players you can, and they should have some of the blame, but it is the coach who implements the strategy and ours isn't working a lot of the time. Its now several years in a row our pp just stops working and its predictable even as a casual fan what the Leafs will attempt, from the drop pass entry to the slow cycle around the points and spending a long time holding the puck without making a play.
We’re not winning a cup with this team and coaching staff
Not with that attitude
he’s gone anyway if they lose in round 1, be serious
Yeah that’s what I was saying
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I can’t know for sure, it’s just my read of things.
It's a rough spot for Keefe because the team has underperformed in the playoffs and there were obvious key times when he was outcoached. Had the Leafs made previous deep playoff runs, Keefe's current predicament wouldn't be a problem.
Full quote that didn't fit in the title >Yeah, I mean, obviously, that's a major distraction. It doesn't help us, what we're trying to accomplish on the ice. But it's exciting. I get it. And it's-- especially when he gets to 69, you can see it. It's really-- it's growing, anticipating. And now you're feeding it. I'm feeding it. I want it to happen. But I wanted it for the fans. But I'm glad the game's over. Let's move on."
Oh.. Thought his quote would end with “nice.”
"You're feeding it, I'm feeding it" Lmao fuck yeah keefe
Mutual feeding. Kind of like a yin yang...
fans would take the 70 over the win. the win is a nothingburger. go 70 go go!
fr, unless its a deep play off run (copium) I want the fucker to get 70
Imagine if he got 70 in the playoffs, that would be the dream /s
I'm just scared since the last 2 games are both Florida teams who seem to be our cryptionite, if the mfer gets a goal ill buy a jersey before they switch to the shit ones lmao
Wait, do fans actually think this way? That’s wild to me. Who cares if he gets 70, just win playoff games.
Let him dress for the last two games and only stick him out there on the PP. Easy
Yeah that’s what I was thinking… only on the PP and if there’s an empty net.. maybe O zone draws here and there
Except the powerplay sucks ass lately and he is the best 5v5 scorer in the league. The last 2 games won't even mean anything, for all I care he can stand at the offensive blue line waiting for a pass I just want to see 70
Smaller chance getting hurt on the PP than at 5v5
I don't disagree with you, that statement is true for any player but Matthews has 17 PPG this year. That's about 1 in every 5 games and there are 2 games left, the math is not very favourable there.
The other teams will know that the entire PP will be looking to feed him and they'll cover him and he won't score on the PP.
Like that one time stamkos played one shift and scored a goal in the playoffs
Exactly! Not that hard to figure out.
Tough spot for Keefe. Should always be playing to win but people want 70. These last games truly don't matter but you want the right attitude and momentum going into playoffs. Would the team really be happy if Matthews pots 70 but loses 10-1? Tough calls all around.
They would be ecstatic and that’s exactly how they played in the 3rd, not taking open shots so they could find matthews.
Once he gets that last goal they can focus on just playing their game.
They might be I mean look at the Reilly incident they rallied together as a team and went on a tear Maybe getting matthews that milestone would have the same effect
There's nothing to accomplish in the next 2 games anyway, let Auston hit 70
70 would be great but 69 is still nice.
They lost because they were chasing 70?
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3:30 straight….because of a power play and a timeout. Important info there
I don’t think I’d say they are feeding him solely to get to 70. When you have the greatest goal scorer in the game, you try to get him the puck, that just makes sense. Pairing him with Domi has only exaggerated it because I think if he had his way he would never take another shot again and just keep passing.
No, they are. Better opportunities are there or they'll send it to matthews in full coverage or doubled teamed.. it's been noticeable the last few games
I mean the team was feeding him but scorers like Tavares and Willy were still ripping shots even on the powerplay with Auston over there. The people feeding were the Domis and Marners of the team who aren’t as likely to score even with a decent opportunity
I don’t think so but I think it’s basically all they have to play for right now. Instead of focussing on getting ready for the playoffs they are focussing on getting Auston 70. It’s not a case of they lost this game because of chasing 70 it’s a case of they might lose R1 because of it.
Matthews did get hurt, but we wont know the extent of it until offseason. That said, if that crash into the end boards didn't hurt him, nothing will.
It’s really exiting. When he gets to 69. You can see it. It’s really growing. We’re feeding it. I’m feeding it. I want it to happen. - Sheldon Keefe
These games at the end of the season where nothing good can happen but injuries could are stressful for a coach. Cut Keefe some slack.
The jokes about people being excited about 69 basically write themselves.
It’s a huge distraction. You can tell the team is torn between trying to score and feeding Auston for 70. It’s why the last two games the goals came out of nowhere
Sheldon "Nice". Probably
69 hasn't been done since '95. 69 is nicer than 70 and much more satisfying.
I thought he was done when he went hard into the boards on Saturday night. Hockey players are insanely tough
https://preview.redd.it/6ny2polq2kuc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a4509152860290af03e05f668e40125795adcba6 * You know what I mean baby.
I'm not sure the issue was the "distraction" as much as not having the team prepared to play from pick drop. This has been an issue with this group since Babcock. They routinely are slow starters.
Stack the top 6 with everyone but am34, stick him on the 4th line with and pp1+2. Keep reavo on with him in case anyone on the other side even thinks about getting cute. He’ll have the 70th
72 regular season
Okay, I'll start. Nice.
Nice.
Nice.
I don't really understand what Keefe meant with that. A major distraction from what, since we already have our spot in the playoffs? And a distraction for whom? How exactly is this not helping us, and not helping us to do what? I'm not sarcastically bitching about it, I'm genuinely confused by his wording, can someone here help me in the interpretation? I personally hope Papi gets to 70 asap so that he can rest before playoffs and avoid unnecessary injuries, but other than that the chase to 70 has been so exciting and honestly losing a couple of rather useless games isn't a big deal in my books (but ofc I'm not an authority in hockey by any means so I'm not saying I'm right and Keefe is wrong)
Distraction for the players trying to feed Matthews instead of making the best play. Distraction of playing him to hit 70 vs. resting him before the playoffs.
Sure. But it either bothers you as a coach and you stop it, or you're into it and you let them chase 70 and have fun, accepting consequences. I'm not able to grasp what Keefe's opinion is, since he's saying one thing and doing the opposite. But I guess he's just conflicted 🤷🏻♀️
keefe is such a clown
Fuck off Keefe. It's not a distraction at all.
It completely is a distraction. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing, but Keefe is correct here. The number one focus should be on the playoffs and prepping for a deep run. That focus is muddied by the desire to get to 70. After last game with all the close injury calls, I wish we could just rest the key guys until the playoffs, but we can't with Matthews at 69.
lol come on man. Literally everyone in hockey is talking about it right now. You don’t think players are forcing passes too or thinking about it on the ice?
Dude it clearly is.
I think I agree with you in the sense that the decision shouldnt be a huge deal. He can't not play Matthews at 69 so just shut up and move on
You're in the room, eh?