Learning More About Sheldon Keefe From The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Perspective (Ft. Locked On Leafs)

Learning More About Sheldon Keefe From The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Perspective (Ft. Locked On Leafs)

Michael D Stefano of locked on Leafs accompanies me on today’s episode to talk all things Sheldon Keef and also let’s catch up on some signings that the devil’s made throughout the month of May including Sheamus Casey what will his role be with this organization going forward we have a lot to break down today’s episode locked on Devils buckle up everybody you’re locked on Devils your daily podcast on the New Jersey Devils part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hi this is Bryce Salvador and you’re locked on devil trade Matthews scor oh Steven stepped up nailed him RoR got the pock what a shot the Devils win the Stanley Cup alrighty now what is up New Jersey welcome back to the lock on lils podcast here on lockon network I’m your host College hockey plub a play announcer Del R Puck pitchforks and also parttime credential me a member Trey Matthews today’s episode is mostly going to consist of me interacting with one of my colleagues over here at lockon and that is Michael D Stefano the co-host of lockon leavs Michael will give his perspective on Sheldon Keith and paint a picture as to what went wrong towards the end of his tenure and what New Jersey Devils fans can expect from him moving forward but before I bring in Michael I want to go over some signings made by the Devils throughout the month of May we are obviously know the big one in Curtis mcder resigning to a three-year extension but the Devils signed a lot of Young Guns that I don’t think a lot of people are talking about with the main one being Sheamus Casey we’ll talk about Sheamus Casey momentarily but the catch everybody up Jacob Malik was signed to a two-year entry-level contract Max Wilman was resigned as well Nathan Leger was resigned Brian henin was signed to a two-year two-way contract ra Samuel leberge oneyear two-way and Sheamus Casey a highly touted defenseman from the University of Michigan signed his entrylevel contract earlier this month Sheamus Casey had a big performance for the Wolverines he recorded 45 points seven goals 38 assists in 39 games he led all Michigan defensemen in scoring and his 45 points ranked fifth on the team during the 2023 2024 season he earned all big 10 first team honors was a finalist for the Big 10 defensive player of the year it was named to both Big 10 all tournament and NCAA all regional teams following the end of the season Casey was named an American Hockey coaches association All-American his 45 points ranked third for all NCAA blue liners and remember the wolverin made it to the front Frozen for once again Sheamus Casey is an interesting Prospect for the Devils because when we look at the defenseman that are already on the roster there’s a decent amount of players that are signed long term douge Hamilton is signed long term Jonas Sean thaler John Marino Kevin ball and Luke Hughes both have one year remaining before they become restrictive free agents believe it or not it feels like just yesterday that the devil signed Luke h to his entry-level contract Brendan Smith is currently a UFA Nick D Simone UFA and Simo Nemitz is going to enter year two of his entrylevel contract basically there’s a decent amount of defensemen that are signed long term and it raises the important question what role is Sheamus Casey gonna have with the Devils moving Ford because I just listed some of the players I assed long term including Ino seethaler and Hamilton and NTS and Hughes are going to take priority over Casey Casey is a dynamic player I had the chance to watch him up close and personal during development camp and what I noticed from Casey was that he was not afraid to join in on the rush he was not afraid to be a playmaker and he’s pretty quick if you ask me and I just told you his numbers while playing for the Wolverines he’s a really good player and I’ve actually had this debate with Jersey Joe of draft Pro Hockey what should the Devils do with Casey because I don’t see a role for him because all six of the defensive positions are going to be locked up because Hamilton’s coming back Marino Sean thaler ball NTS Hughes and possibly another defenseman because that’s also going to be a target for Tom feral this offseason so I’m not really seeing what the future plan is for Casey and if the want to involve them in trade discussions I’d say be very careful about that because I still think that Casey can be a valuable asset but I’m gonna say something and this might be a hot take I think you really have to entertain the idea of possibly converting Sheamus Casey to a Ford because I just told you what he did at development Camp he’s not the typical defenseman and in the modern NHL we definitely praise more offense from defensemen you don’t really see too many stay-at-home defensemen getting much love or support around the league that’s why usually the best offensive mind defenseman will win the Norris Trophy case in point with Eric Carlson because Carlson is a turnover machine but yet he won the Norris last year and who’s gonna win the Norris this year my money’s on Quinn Hughes and I don’t hear Too Many people Rave about quinnn hughes’s defense more about his his playmaking and also his ability to get into the scoring column by racking up the points and I think kale m is the same way kale marar is often regarded as one of the best defensemen in the modern NHL in fact I think I’ve heard NHL personalities including PK suban say that kale marar can go down as one of the best defensemen to ever play the game based on how his career is turning out to be one of not the just just for cl ification but Sheamus Casey deserves a chance but I just don’t see a role defensively for him and if he is added to the devil’s Blue Line it actually creates more issues if you ask me because one of the problems that the Devils had last season was they were very inexperienced on their blue line because you had nemits you had Hughes who don’t uh have that much NHL experience and both were playing in their rookie years and douge Hamilton he’s not the best defensively Jonas sealer John Marino Kevin ball they didn’t exactly hold down the fort defensively this season compared to last season I I think it’s I think you got to entertain the possibility of converting Sheamus Casey to a Ford but that’s my two cent opinion and it’s not my final decision it’s just like maybe you just see how that goes because I do want to see Sheamus Casey succeed but at the same time I don’t want to just use him as a trade Pawn I think he’s a very valuable asset but let me know what you guys think what do you think the devil should do with Sheamus Casey because he had a big year for the Michigan Wolverines and he now signed his entry level contract but what role should he play with the devils and before we bring in Michael Deano of locked on Leafs let me tell you guys about inde because I think the Devils found Sheldon Keef on indeed indeed is the hiring platform where you can attract interview and hire all in one place instead of spending hours on multiple job sites searching for candidates with the right skills indeed’s a powerful hiring platform that can help you do it all with instant match over 80% of employers get quality candidates whose resume on indeed matches their job description the moment they sponsor a job according to inded data us one of the things I like about indeed is that it makes hiring allinone place so easy I’ve actually used inde before to book myself some play-by-play gigs and I’m still associated with the company that employs me to this day start hiring now with a $75 sponsored job credit to upgrade your job post at indeed.com logdon offer good for a limited time claim your $75 credit now at indeed.com lockon indeed.com lockon terms and conditions apply need to hire you need indeed okay it’s time to bring in Michael the Stephano of locked on Leafs to talk all things Sheldon Keef take it away all right I’m joining alongside one of the co-hosts of locked on Leafs Michael Deano he also does work for TSN the hockey news and also covers Michael how you doing doing well Trey doing uh doing well just you know enjoying you know the the playoff hockey that’s going on wish my team was still in it I’m sure you’re the same way but still lots of great hockey to uh to be watch in these days absolutely and for Devil’s Discord anyone but Rangers that’s the the mindset that I think a lot of people have but um we’re here to you’re here to talk all things Sheldon Keef and give your thoughts as to what went wrong in Toronto and is was this a good pickup for New Jersey to start off just tell us your overall thoughts on Sheldon Keefe what his tenure was like in Toronto because he’s been in the Toronto system for a good while with the Marley’s and then being promoted in 2019 and I would say he had a productive five years behind the bench yeah I think that’s that’s that’s fair to say he had a very productive five years I mean you look at a team that set you know Leaf records year after year uh you know three straight 100 Point Seasons under Sheldon Keefe they set the alltime Leafs record with I think it was 1001 points or something like that uh with Sheldon Keefe a few years ago they won a division title that year that it was the Canadian division um and they’ve made the playoffs every single year that he was there so you know there’s there’s a lot of success under Keef there’s a lot that uh you know Leaf fans should be happy with the unfortunate part in the Legacy that he’s always going to have here in Toronto is you know he was never able to get the team over the hump and win the playoffs right like you look at it they had one Series win throughout the duration of his 10e here um that obviously extends way further where they’ve only had one Series win in the last 20 years but that is kind of the problem is you know they they they needed a new voice in Toronto and that’s what the GM Brad trillin came out and said when he announced that they were relieving Sheldon Keef of his duties that they simply just needed a new voice and uh they’ve got that now in Craig buuy but I’ll be honest with you like I I I thought Sheldon Keefe did a really good job coaching this team this year I this is one of his best coaching jobs as a whole I you’ll notice that Sheldon Keefe is is not shy to mix up the lines like mid game like this dude brings out the blender more than anyone else that I’ve seen like he loves to make himself a nice lineup cocktail mid game like it’s insane um but honestly it often works out it really really does so you know I think Sheldon Keefe is a really really solid coach I think he’ll go on to do good things I think the Devils were a solid landing spot obviously he knows how to cultivate Talent uh he was able to get the best out of you know Mitch Marner and and uh Austin Matthews William neander so I look at the talent that they have in in New Jersey and he should be able to get that out of guys like Jack Hughes Nico heser and such so I think that it was a a really good hire and a really good fit for both sides between Kei and uh and the Devils now I wna ask you this you talked about why the front office decided to move on from Sheldon Keith but I want to hear your personal opinion do you think it was justified to try to find a new voice because my thing is like from an outside perspective you talked about how he never really got the team over the hump but the Maple Leafs went to the second round of the playoffs last year for the first time since 2004 and they lost to the eventual Eastern Conference Champion Florida Panthers that should say a lot in my opinion and not only that you mentioned the core 4 uh awesome match Matthews Mitch Marner William neander John tarz they all saw decent offensive production and Austin Matthews is a superstar in this league I personally from an outside perspective don’t think it was fair to relieve him of his duties considering the fact that he saw a lot of success but he’s like the chef and he has to work with what the ingredients he’s been given because I don’t think it’s on him that sometimes the Maple Leafs their def defense and their go tending could be anywhere from decent to shaky and I’m I’m just speaking on experience myself because the devils are sort of in that same situation where they have a very inexperienced blue line and their goal tending was anywhere from mediocre the putrid I just want to get your thoughts do you think it was justified to move on from Sheldon Keef because from an outside perspective I think he did really well yeah I think in in in a vacuum no I think Keith probably you know if you just look at this season as a whole did he do enough where you know if there wasn’t this long history would he have remained as coach of the Maple Leafs probably I think that’s that’s fair to say especially when you look at the the you know turnaround that this team ended up making in game five against Boston and game five six and seven like they were they were great uh they were tight they played with structure they played defensively the biggest issue though Trey and ultimately the reason why he’s gone is because the same problem s were persisting year after year come playoff time and I think that’s the issue it’s like well if this coach can’t change it then we need someone else to come in and do that and the two issues this would shock people who you know don’t pay attention to what’s going on in Toronto the two issues that the lease had in the playoffs was not goal tending it was not defense it was goal scoring it was their offense 13 of the last 14 playoff games they’ve recorded two or less goals they could couldn’t find a way to score in the playoffs and that’s the biggest issue that this team had if you go and look at the goals against average right now in the NHL do you know who’s up there at number one through the playoffs Joseph wo Joseph wo had the best goals against average in the National Hockey League uh in the couple I know it’s only small sample size only played two games but you know like that just goes to show that goal scoring was their issue and and that’s always been the case unfortunately for the Toronto Maple and so I think that’s the biggest reason uh why they wanted to to make a change special teams also was a big problem their power play has always lacked uh come playoff time so I think those two reasons in particular is kind of what you know those problems continue to persist year after year after year and that’s ultimately I think why they decided to go in a different direction because if they didn’t get fixed after a couple of games last year they didn’t get fixed at all throughout this playoff series I mean how many times can you really go at it with this exact same core run it back and continue to kind of waste and burn years I I think when you look at the history of what’s going on here in Toronto in the last few years come playoff time in particular regular season hey this is one of the best regular season teams we’ve ever seen like they’re just prolific every single year come playoffs though have not been able to really get the job done and unfortunately it cost Sheldon his job yeah so you talked about the regular season succcess and the maple Lees they set a franchise record with 54 wins and 115 points while also winning 50 plus games in consecutive years from 2021 to 2023 and his teams never registered a points percentage lower than 622 in any of those seasons and the power play is something else you talked about they finished first in the NHL in the 2021 2022 season which also set a Toronto franchise record and I want to highlight that a little bit because I think Sheldon Keef does deserve his roses in uh that regard but just to shift to a more positive tone you talked about what the ultimate downfall was what do what do you think are some of the strengths that Sheldon Keef possesses that can give the devil’s discourse some hope here because I think a lot of people wanted Craig baru behind the bench ultimately he lands in Toronto and that’s the up hockey and I and I think that was his his dream job but I said it in a couple prior episodes that I like Sheldon Keef and what he brings to the roster and I think he is given another core four to work with in New Jersey the the front office just has to make a few changes but your perspective what are some of the strengths from Sheldon Keef well I so I’ve spoken to a few people who’ve played under sheld and Keef and and they’ve told me that he’s an ultimate Communicator communicator ation is really big with him he’s very easy when it comes to relaying what he wants out of his group so that’s that’s always a positive so communication is key for him and you know I I kind of touched on it earlier but when it comes to um you know mixing things up when it comes to in-game adjustments he’s really good at that like he can you know go from period to period go into this little coaches room and say all right this is what happened this is how we’re going to change it we’re going to mix up lines and then this is going to be their role this is what we’re going to do and then they look like a completely different hockey team coming out into the second period it’s they do it all the time um so I would say like his his in-game adjustments uh are are really really solid he really um has a knack and knows what buttons to press what moves to kind of do at what point and they tend to work and then communication I think is a another big thing which you know you would think okay well if he was so good communicating how come the message couldn’t get through to the big boys and you know during the playoffs that’s a good question it’s one that I think everyone’s still asking themselves one that Sheldon’s probably still asking themselves because I don’t think it was the message that was that was bad or it was the play style or system that was bad it was just not getting through and and you know I think it was it was really evident to me uh in game five six and seven of the of the playoffs against Boston when the team finally started to play with structure they finally started to play the system and they started to play the way that Sheldon Keef wanted them to they looked like a great hockey team uh they ran into a hot golender Jeremy Swan and they couldn’t get puck in the back of the net but in terms of how it looked it looked like a playoff team so I think uh as long as the Devils Buy in to what Sheldon is selling I think they’ll be in a pretty good spot and find themselves back in the postseason next year I think uh being adaptable is important for any coach because you mentioned it before games five and six Austin Matthews a superstar player not out there and yet the leas found a way to win and they almost pulled off the improbable comeback and having uh the Boston Bruins blow a three to1 lead in back-to-back years ultimately David posto put the game to bed in overtime and this sort of leads to my final question and and you probably asked this often and sorry if I’m beating a dead course but why do the Maple leaes continue to get knocked out in the first round with all the talent that they have I know in the early 2010s period it was about getting to the playoffs but now it’s just like getting over that hump do you see any light at the end of the tunnel because some decisions might need to be made during the offseason yeah I mean I there’s there’s still light I suppose I mean you look that they’ve got a very talented Squad and a team that certainly from the looks of it should be a squad that can make it out of the first round year after year uh but for whatever reason you know the the two things that continue to persist this this team is one um you know their inability to score come playoff time you know a often times you got to score goals by going to the net right and a lot of their guys kind of stay perimeter too much sometimes so you know that’s one problem is is playoff scoring and then the other is is special teams you you look at their special team this year in the playoffs their power play was 4% Trey 4% one for 21 it was disgusting what uh what what was happening with that power play and the penalty kill wasn’t that much better I think the penalty kill was in like the high 60s um so special teams um have like often plagued this team come playoff time and then just the lack of goal scoring has has been a big issue and it’s a lack of goal scoring from the big boys like that’s that’s the the biggest concern is that guys like Mitch guys like John Taris stin Matthews like have been very quiet come playoff time like Marner had three points in seven games in this playoffs guys paid $ 11 million you got have more than three points my guy like that’s just that that’s the biggest issue and when you look at it and they’re losing every game by like one goal like the margins are tight if he cashes in on an extra goal or sets up an extra goal here and there completely different series you know what I mean so um that that’s that those have been the issues that applied the Toronto Maple Leaf so you know when it comes to uh is there light at the end of the tunnel yeah there’s got to be like you look at they’ve changed the coach there’s thoughts they might make an on Ice change up I know there’s a lot of rumors out there about Mitch Marner and hey silly season’s coming up Trey who knows we might be able to come up with something maybe maybe Keith and Marner could get reunited we could go through that at some point in the summer but um I think at some point I mean Le have to hope that the mate beliefs you know break through and don’t completely waste this this Austin Matthews era here and finally make some sort of Deep Run Craig Buu’s been there he he knows what it takes hopefully the team can buy into what he’s selling and buub can take this team over the top I actually already did a silly season episode surrounding Marner because there was an article put out there by Bleacher Report of a few trade packages for for Marr and it consisted of John Marino and the devils first round draft pick in next year’s draft for Mitch Marner personally Mitch Marner is a good player but he doesn’t feel a need for the devils like offense is not the devil’s problem they need better defense and they need better goal tending they kind of already have a Bonafide scorer who can sometimes be RedHot but uh as proven in the playoffs sometimes that if you if you suppress them then they’re they’re a no- show jper brat was sort of that player in last year’s playoffs for the devils and I and there’s no guarantee that he’ll resign long term with the Devils if brought here that’s a huge risk and the Devils have a lot of contracts to fill from Dawson Mercer seimo Nemitz uh Luke Hughes and it would just create a lot of chaos but I personally think the maple leaes should move on from Mitch Marner to get more defense in and because offense similar to The Devils is not really their problem you still got Austin Matthews you still got uh William neander and you still got John Tavarez get grittier defense in my opinion yeah I mean that’s that’s an opinion that a lot of leaf fans share as well but uh he’s got a no movement Clause so whatever trade does kind of happen he’s got a okay and I mean any team trading for Mitch Marner probably going to want an extension in place as well uh so or or to retain half of the salary which is not gonna happen like not gonna happen like maybe there’s another team that’ll take on that money just because uh but certainly the Leafs aren’t aren’t in the business of doing that they’re they’re looking to move his salary so they can replace it with other good players not keep it on the books a dead cap so yeah it’s going to be a very interesting offseason here in Toronto well I wish you the best and Craig baru known for for being a drill sergeant but he has Championship pedigree and he he turned a hopeless team into Champions uh that’s why he was actually my top choice but Sheldon Keefe he was a he was a close second and now let’s see what both devils and the leafes can do Michael I want to thank you for taking the time out your day to come on and discuss Sheldon Keef where my audience find you uh yeah I mean you could find me talking lease every day over at the lockdown Lee podcast wherever you get your podcast and up on YouTube you can find me also on Twitter uh or X as it’s now called Mickey kanuck lots of uh lots of hockey talk throughout the duration of the playoffs you can go find me there as well awesome and and like I do to close out every episode continue to stay safe have a wonderful day New Jersey go Devils I’ll catch you guys in the next episode thanks for listening once again

Michael DiStefano (@LockedOnLeafs ) joined me on today’s episode to talk about Sheldon Keefe and why he was fired by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Keefe was recently hired as the next head coach for the New Jersey Devils organization. The Devils made a decent amount of “under the radar” signings this month. Including highly touted defensive prospect Seamus Casey. However, what should Casey’s role be with the team moving forward?

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