Keefe might not be the only Leafs staff member getting fired soon

Before the end of the week, the Toronto Maple Leafs will likely have a decision on the future of head coach Sheldon Keefe.

There’s been plenty of speculation about the future of Keefe’s job status following the team’s first-round series loss to the Boston Bruins, but he’s not the only member of the staff who could be on their way out.

Leafs assistant coach Guy Boucher, who formerly coached both the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning, has also been the target of much criticism due to the team’s offence drying up in the playoffs while on the man advantage.

During the playoffs, Toronto went just 1-for-21 with an extra skater, with John Tavares scoring the team’s lone goal on the power play, which Boucher was in charge of organizing. And while Boucher didn’t meet the media today at Toronto’s end-of-season locker cleanout, Keefe discussed the team’s dysfunction on his behalf.

“In February, we were number one in the NHL on the power play and were clipping along at a really high rate. We have been a top power play in the league for years. The power play was really good in the Tampa series a year ago and helped us in the playoffs. Otherwise, like our overall offensive game in the playoffs, it hasn’t met expectations or delivered for us,” Keefe told the media today.

“It hasn’t executed. Was it perplexing? We spent a lot of time searching for answers. The fact that it has been good, has come through, and has looked elite at times — you go to that, and you want to build trust towards that.”

During the regular season, the Leafs went 55-for-238 on the power play, good enough for a 23.95% rate that ranked seventh in the league.

“It is difficult to do when things don’t go well,” Keefe added. “As we were talking about with our power play throughout the series, especially as we showed the type of resolve that we did later in the series to keep our season alive, it came through trust — players trusting in the plan, going out and executing, and giving absolutely everything that they have to execute the plan.”

Keefe continued in his belief to turn around their special teams issues, with or without him and/or Boucher in charge.

“The skill is there. Throughout this season, we tried different things. We moved different things around. Through the series, we moved things around and tried many different iterations of what the first unit looked like. Some of it was by design, and some of it was because players were in and out of our lineup,” Keefe added. “Frankly, in Game 7, the power play was good. We just didn’t put the puck over the line, which was the same story in Games 2 and 3… you have to be able to beat the goaltender, ultimately. That is the missing piece. That is the hurdle there.”

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