Sheldon Keefe Looks Back at Why the Maple Leafs Lost in the Playoffs Ahead of First Game Against Former Team
The New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe looked back at why the Toronto Maple Leafs lost in the playoffs, in an interview ahead of the first game against his former team.
Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be in New Jersey to face the Devils and their former head coach Sheldon Keefe, marking Keefe's second game against his former team since being replaced by Craig Berube.
It'll be a crucial game, as both teams are currently 2nd in their respective divisions, with the Devils having a four-point lead over the Maple Leafs.
Ahead of the game, Keefe reflected on his time as the Maple Leafs coach in an interview with Jonas Siegel of The Athletic.
He talked about many interesting topics but notably mentioned what he believes to be the source of the Leafs' struggles in the playoffs.
In past years, the Leafs earned the reputation of always going down in the playoffs after a great regular season.
According to Keefe, the team's issue wasn't at the blue line, the area that was the most criticized by people outside the organization. He believes the real problem was in the offensive group, as the team couldn't score to keep their seasons alive.
He noted that in many important games, including game 7s, the forwards couldn't get it done.
Read Keefe's full declaration here:
And then we get into the playoffs and I don't think defending was ever really an issue. We couldn't score. That part of it is difficult.
But it's just a reminder for me of how hard we need to push to be able to learn to score in different ways in the regular season (with the Devils). So no matter what we approach in the playoffs, we can deal with it.
We talk a lot in Toronto about trying to be better defensively. I don't think that's ever why we lost in the playoffs.
You look back at all these Game 7s and all these series that we could have won before getting to Game 7, the number of opportunities we have to score goals or not being able to generate enough.
That's the big reason why we lost. And that doesn't necessarily jive with the perception of the team, say, in the regular season."
Keefe didn't shy away from calling out the Leafs forwards for their poor results in playoffs. Considering that they'll most likely hear about this before tonight's game, it'll be interesting to see who ends up getting the upper hand on the ice.
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| POLL | ||
DÉCEMBRE 10 | 87 ANSWERS Sheldon Keefe Looks Back at Why the Maple Leafs Lost in the Playoffs Ahead of First Game Against Former Team Who do you think is the better coach, Craig Berube or Sheldon Keefe? | ||
| Craig Berube | 66 | 75.9 % |
| Sheldon Keefe | 21 | 24.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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APRIL 16, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Connor McDavid | - | 4 | 4 | |
| Matthew Savoie | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Robert Thomas | 3 | - | 3 | |
| Steven Stamkos | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Macklin Celebrini | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| William Eklund | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Evan Bouchard | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mikael Granlund | - | 3 | 3 | |
| John Klingberg | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Filip Forsberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Colton Dach | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Will Smith | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| John Carlson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Luke Evangelista | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Dylan Holloway | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Clayton Keller | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Ryan Ufko | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Zach Whitecloud | - | 2 | 2 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||
| 2025-2026 NHL STANDINGS | ||||||
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Sabres | 82 | 50 | 23 | 9 | 109 | |
| Lightning | 82 | 50 | 26 | 6 | 106 | |
| Canadiens | 82 | 48 | 24 | 10 | 106 | |
| Bruins | 82 | 45 | 27 | 10 | 100 | |
| Senators | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 99 | |
| Red Wings | 82 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 92 | |
| Panthers | 82 | 40 | 38 | 4 | 84 | |
| Maple Leafs | 82 | 32 | 36 | 14 | 78 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Hurricanes | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 113 | |
| Penguins | 82 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 98 | |
| Flyers | 82 | 43 | 27 | 12 | 98 | |
| Capitals | 82 | 43 | 30 | 9 | 95 | |
| Blue Jackets | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 92 | |
| Islanders | 82 | 43 | 34 | 5 | 91 | |
| Devils | 82 | 42 | 37 | 3 | 87 | |
| Rangers | 82 | 34 | 39 | 9 | 77 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Avalanche | 81 | 54 | 16 | 11 | 119 | |
| Stars | 82 | 50 | 20 | 12 | 112 | |
| Wild | 82 | 46 | 24 | 12 | 104 | |
| Mammoth | 81 | 43 | 32 | 6 | 92 | |
| Predators | 81 | 38 | 33 | 10 | 86 | |
| Blues | 81 | 36 | 33 | 12 | 84 | |
| Jets | 81 | 35 | 34 | 12 | 82 | |
| Blackhawks | 82 | 29 | 39 | 14 | 72 | |
| GP | W | L | OL | PTS | ||
| Golden Knights | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 95 | |
| Oilers | 81 | 40 | 30 | 11 | 91 | |
| Ducks | 81 | 42 | 33 | 6 | 90 | |
| Kings | 81 | 35 | 26 | 20 | 90 | |
| Sharks | 81 | 38 | 35 | 8 | 84 | |
| Kraken | 81 | 34 | 36 | 11 | 79 | |
| Flames | 81 | 33 | 39 | 9 | 75 | |
| Canucks | 81 | 25 | 48 | 8 | 58 | |
COMPLETE STANDINGS | ||||||