The Toronto Maple Leafs are an elite hockey team. They have been an elite hockey team for a long time. This comes after years and years of being the laughingstock of the NHL.
With players like Auston Matthews, Morgan Reilly, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander as a part of their core, it isn’t very surprising that they are good.
Although they haven’t gotten past the second round in this era, they have been one of the best teams in the league just trying to get over the hump.
It got even better when Sheldon Keefe took over as the head coach. There have been bumps along the way but nothing has stopped them from being one of the powers in the Eastern Conference.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will have Sheldon Keefe coaching them for a while.
Now, on Wednesday, we learned that Sheldon Keefe is getting a two-year contract extension. This is a good move for the Maple Leafs. As mentioned before, he has done a good job with this team.
They finally won a round in 2023 and that was the first time since 2004 for the Maple Leafs franchise. In the second round, they ran into the red-hot Florida Panthers and lost. Now, the goal is to get past that round as they look to win it all with this group.
The Maple Leafs organization hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967. Of course, that is the drought that they want to end the most. It is not easy to win the cup but they have the horses to do so.
If Keefe can get the stars to produce just a little bit more in the second round next time, they will be able to win. It would also be nice to see their physical game step up a bit.
There is nobody better for the job at this moment in time and he has done nothing but win while there. For now, there is no reason to think about anybody else. He deserves this extension.
Love them or hate them, Keefe’s team is going to be elite in 2023-24. With the players they have and him behind the bench, you never know just how good they can be. We shall see.