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Maple Leafs confirm Keefe contract extension

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    Lance Hornby Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun Article content

    Sheldon Keefe has yet to win a playoff series, but has landed his first contract extension.

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    The club confirmed a TSN report that Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas has given his longtime coach and friend another two years, through 2023-24, a deal the team says was agreed to during the summer. Keefe was on the last season of a pact after he replaced the fired Mike Babcock in November of 2019.

    Promoted from the Marlies, where he had led the farm team to the 2018 Calder Cup, Keefe turned the NHL club’s fortunes around. Repairing a rift with young guns and utilizing players he had developed, Keefe’s own record was 27-15-5 before the schedule was halted by COVID-19. Toronto was favoured to win its re-started playoff series a few months later, but lost to Columbus in the fifth and deciding game.

    Last season, Keefe had the Leafs well atop the seven-team all-Canadian North Division, cutting down goals against and helping coax all-star seasons from Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. But again, they fell in the first round after blowing a 3-1 series lead to Montreal.

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    Heading into 2021-22, Dubas expressed full support for Keefe, who has often pointed out he has yet to have a full training camp and 82-game season to fully establish his game plan. Though many thought any further contractual commitment should depend on playoff success, Dubas stated at camp that he believes the 41-year-old Keefe is at his best when facing unforeseen circumstances and setbacks. Keefe also has two new assistant coaches thus season.

    While not a long extension and certainly nowhere near the eight-year $50 million US that Babcock commanded for his Stanley Cup pedigree and international success, it’s about the right length to remove questions about Keefe’s short-term future.

    Keefe’s current task is to get a camp roster of more than 40 players down to a workable number in coming days. There are still three exhibition games to go, and two of those are back-to-back early next week, so he must keep two groups for now without big cuts.

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    Some clarity could come Friday in the Blue and White Game at Scotiabank Arena before a guest crowd of 9,500 health care workers, food bank employees, teachers and others pressed during the pandemic. It’s a three-period intrasquad contest, with the third period to be strictly power play and penalty kills, with overtime, shootouts and other features to spice up the evening.

    RAT TRICK

    Michael Bunting is enjoying his new “greasy rat” status.

    That’s what teammate Kurtis Gabriel dubbed him during Bunting’s live first-star TV interview Wednesday in Ottawa, in praise of a night at the office that included a power play hat trick and his annoying presence for opponents.

    “I just try and play on the edge, but not too far over,” said Bunting. “When I’m in their head and they’re chasing me, I’m doing my job.”

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    Gabriel, who often takes that kind of role a step further to dropping the gloves, hit Bunting hard in one of their first camp encounters and was impressed when the smaller man counter-attacked with fury. Since then, the new forwards have hit it off.

    “When it comes to the other team, you saw him (Wednesday) in everybody’s grill, ticking people off. That’s what we need on this team. We’re a team that loves each other and when we start getting emotional like that, everyone feels bigger.”

    POWER RESTORED

    For the first time in camp, the Leafs rolled out their No. 1 power play unit, old faces in new places, needing to untangle all that talent and spin it into goals. Toronto was an inexplicable 16th in league power play efficiency, despite having Matthews and Marner on the unit.

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    Now conducted by new assistant coach Spencer Carbery, the Leafs are trying Marner stationed in the middle as bumper, Matthews and William Nylander on the sides, John Tavares as the net presence and Morgan Rielly as point quarterback. There was no opposition provided Thursday from the penalty killing crew, as the five buzzed around beleaguered rookie goalie Erik Kallgren.

    “Just getting through our routes and positioning,” said Tavares. “Get a feel for what Spence is looking to implement. He’s been touching on it every day, but it was good to get all five guys out there with a different set-up.

    “Spence just wants us to use our abilities collectively, to have flexibility and adapt as penalty kills adapt to us, using different parts of the ice as we attack. As the year goes on, PK’s seem to get sharper and know the power plays they’re up against really, really well.

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    “At times (last year) we didn’t want to revamp it, because we’d had success early. Then we seemed to squeeze the stick and not have that mojo.”

    Matthews is slowly easing into full practice as he recovers from wrist surgery, while the five have been in different groups through most of camp and Nylander was absent Wednesday. Thursday was a taste of the shots both men can unleash, while Marner’s continued quest to improve his own release will make him even more of a double threat in addition to feeding the other four.

    “Mitch is aware of reading the play and thinking two or three steps ahead,” said Tavares. “When he’s in the middle, he’ll be hard to stop because he’s so unpredictable. He’s going to find ways to get opportunities himself.”

    lhornby@postmedia.com

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